XTREMIS
by MistressOfDeath09
Summary: 8 months after the alien invasion, things have started going back to normal. As Tony busied himself with his suits and sorting his priorities, Rose ended up with her own demons to face. And it doesn't help that Tony threatened a terrorist. Fem harry. Sequel to Magic, Metal and Madness
1. Chapter 1

8 months later

Rose removed her glasses, keeping them on the table as she ran a hand through her newly dyed hair.

A few weeks after she moved back to Malibu, she had gotten her pink hair dyed again. This time it was gradient and something that was a welcome change. The hair roots were darkest purple which slowly transcended to her original rose gold. Her hair had grown a lot in the past 8 months , ever since the battle with aliens, now reaching her lower back.

Sure CEO were supposed to be super formal and not go dying their hair crazy colors, but Rose was not only one of the youngest CEO in the world, she didn't give a damn about those rules. No one can fire her. And she was so used to limelight that she didn't care anymore. Besides rules were always meant to be broken.

"Need some chamomile tea?"

Rose almost chuckled as Pepper entered her office, dressed in a crisp attire. Usual Pepper

"I'm good" Rose answered and looked at her long time best friend/PA/father's girlfriend/confidant.

"Hmm" Pepper nodded with a smile but her tone easily implied that she didn't buy it.

"Seriously, I'm fine, Pep"

Rose shot Pepper a look who now sat in front of her

"and didn't you had a date with dad for tonight?"

A considerable and reasonable blush adorned her cheeks

"are you listening in on our conversation, Rose?"

"Nope. JARVIS gave me a heads up. So, Pepprika, do take rest of the day off"

Pepper smiled at the nickname Rose was used to call her

"I really mean it"

"I'm not leaving you in the office with a headache" Pepper said, finality in her voice

Rose let out a exasperated sigh and leaned back

"J, some chamomile tea would be good. Make it strong"

In the corner of her office, she heard the tea machine start. Rose had a general dislike towards the mechanical version of tea maker and rather preferred the old kettle-stove method, but she couldn't really have a stove in her office. She had to suffice with a electronic machine.

"See? I got it all under control" Rose smiled

Pepper shot her a look but sighed and shook her head

"Can I trust you not to set the office on fire?"

Rose looked at her clearly offended

"Yeah!"

Pepper giggled and turned to leave

"Have a nice day, Pepprika!" Rose called after her

"Go back home and take some rest"

Rose brushed her off and settled back on the CEO chair, twirling around in it. She glanced up the clock. 8.30 pm.

"Is anyone left here?" she asked

"Everyone has left except you, Ms. Stark" Jarvis curtly answered

"good" she muttered and bent down to remove her pencil heels. She rubbed her feet to regulate the blood flow and let her head roll back and eyes close

Ever since she had left Manhattan for Malibu, she had completely immersed herself in work. While Tony was busy creating suits, Mark XL(40) being the latest, Rose had busied herself with the CEO work. Briefing people for the recent Manhattan show, her coming back to resume her position as the CEO, patents and contracts and new inventions. Even helping the American Ministry with the cleanup.

The tea machine chimed, disturbing the silence of the office room

"Your tea is ready, mam" Jarvis answered

"sure" she muttered, got up and walking to the machine, took the mug. She took a sip and gave out a content sigh. Just the way she liked it. Still nursing the mug, she walked to the windows, looking down at the city.

The whole city of people and here she was alone in the office. She scoffed.

She briefly pulled her phone and looked at the call logs. Steve's name flashed. She wanted to call him but didn't know what to say exactly. She hadn't seen him for the past 8 months, kind of ever since he asked about her mother. She didn't even know why did she clammed up by that question.

When she voiced her concerns to JARVIS, who Tony had programmed just beautifully,

"I'd hypothesize your behavior as the fact that no one who you have worked with seem interested in your personal life"

It was true. Majority people either already knew what happened to her mother, or didn't care. Tony had long since stopped taking the thing personally.

But never once had anyone ask her what happened to her mother. Wizarding World knew. Mundane World didn't care, as Tony had been a playboy for a long time, or they presumed her to be dead. And then there was Steve. A man out of his time, trying to adjust in the new world, while also being part of a group of misfits with superhuman abilities.

But why didn't she call him afterwards?

She was so damn busy with work. She had told herself repeatedly. She felt a lot bad for leaving Steve hanging, but for some reason, she still couldn't forget him. His blue eyes, they were beautiful. And his 40's mannerisms.

She chuckled softly. Once she was done here, she was going to take a vacation and see Steve first of all. Steve was a nice challenge, one that she wasn't going to let go of anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper entered the office building to see the common regular crowd. She smiled at a few, greeted them for the morning.

"Ms. Potts" an employee came to her "these papers needed to be signed by s. Stark"

"Sure" Pepper smiled, taking the file and entered the lift, pressing the button for the second top most floor, Rose's office.

"Jarvis?" she asked, while still in the lift "What time did Rose leave the office last night?"

"Ms. Stark is still in the office, Ms. Potts. Sleeping, I might add"

Pepper frowned

She was supposed to go home, not sleep in the office. But then again, like father like daughter. The alien invasion had changed them both. Tony was spending whatever free time he had in his lab and Rose barely came home. She either spent most of her nights in the office or driving around the city.

With a deep sigh, Pepper shook her head and exited as the lift opened at the desired floor. She curtly nodded at Brittany, the receptionist and then entered the office. Since Pepper started dating Tony and Rose became the CEO, she had appointed a receptionist to mostly reduce Pepper's work pressure.

Entering her room, she found Rose sleeping on the couch, curled up. Her blazer was on top of her as a blanket, her pumps on the edge of the couch.

Pepper looked at her, worried. She walked to the young CEO and settled near her head, softly caressing her hair. It was still early for everyone to come and appointments to begin.

Pepper stopped as Rose twitched for a second under her touch but then went back to sleep

"Rose?" she called "Rosie?"

It took a couple of tries before Rose finally got up. She sat on the couch, rubbing her eyes as she let out a yawn

"What time is it?" she groaned

"It is 8 am, Ms. Stark. Your first appointment for today is at 9.30 am" Jarvis replied

"Huh" rose scoffed

"You were to go home" Pepper frowned, handing Rose a mug of coffee "Not sleep in the office"

"sorry" Rose answered, still sounding sleepy, thought not sounding sorry at all "I started working on the suit"

"Tony's making you work on his suit again?"

"Not dad's suit. Mine" she answered and then looked at Pepper "Dragon leather is good and all, but I need something sturdier"

"I don't think there's going to be any more alien invasions" Pepper sternly said

"You never know" Rose answered "Besides, I needed something to do"

"And the projects?"

"Done already"

Pepper sighed "When did you sleep last night?"

"Not as early as I would nor as late as you expect" rose said

Pepper frowned harder at Rose's cryptic answer.

"Ms. Stark went to sleep at exactly 4.23 this morning"

"Traitor" Rose muttered, keeping the now empty coffee mug on the table "I'm fine, Pep"

"No you are not." Pepper said "Take the day off"

Rose looked at her

"Really. I can cover up for a day"

"Or I can go home, get showered and then come back"

"Rose, a single day of rest wouldn't exactly kill you. Besides you and Tony haven't exactly spent some time together lately. Go have some father-daughter time"

"I.." Rose raised her finger to say something but stopped "You know what? You have a point"

Pepper smiled, relieved. Compared to her father, Rose was much easier to handle. She got up and picket her blazer

"But if anything comes up, anything at all, you call me"

"I will, Ms. Stark." Pepper smiled "Is there anything else?"

"That'll be all, Ms. Potts" Rose smiled "But if some-"

"Go home, Rosie. I got it covered" Pepper smiled.

"right" rose nodded once and then walked out

* * *

She drove home and entering, tossed the keys on the coffee table

"Dad?" she called, but no response

"Mr. Stark is asleep in his lab, mam" Jarvis chimed in

"Thanks J" rose smiled and quickly taking off her pumps, rushed downstairs to the lab

She really had to cover up her mouth from laughing when she saw Tony lying on the floor, wearing pieces of suit and sleeping, mouth open. He was even snoring and drooling

"How long was he awake, J?"

"nearly 72 hours, mam"

Rose winced. She was awake for 48 roughly and she needed about 1 kg caffeine to even let her stand straight. She quietly entered, settled on the floor and shook him awake

"why don't you sleep in your bedroom?" she asked

"Hey you are home" Tony croaked, yawning and stretching

"Yeah. Pep kicked me out" rose chuckled "Still sleepy?"

"No. Not really." Tony got up and sat on the floor. "Why?"

"Pepper said we could use some father-daughter bonding time"

Tony scoffed but there was a smile on his face

"Did you see the news?"

"Uh..no. why?" rose slightly frowned "did they again say that I was missing for a couple of months because of the 19nd pregnancy?"

Rose was just like her father. Her habit of sleeping around was nothing new to either of them, nor Pepper nor public. And every time she was seen with a little extra weight or after some brief gap, her pregnancy rumors would start circulating.

"No" tony chuckled "It's Iron patriot"

Rose blinked at him "Pardon?"

"I'm going to meet Rhodey."

"Sweet. I'll come"

Rose stood up but stopped when she saw Tony giving her a look

"What?"

"Why do want to come?"

"Can't I come to spend some time with favorite uncle and father?" rose snorted "Get showered"

* * *

Rose ran to her to her room, took a relaxing bath and walked into her walking closet, the TV in her room running a news channel.

_"…we seem to be back, let's recap some of the frightening developments... American airwaves were hijacked... The nation remains on high alert. All attempts to find the Mandarin have so far proved unsuccessful."_

"Change" Rose exclaimed, pulling on her lingerie. The channel changed to something else

_" In response to this terrorist event is a newly minted resource. I know him as Colonel James Rhodes."_

Rose stopped and peeked at the TV, where Rhodey entered in his armor suit

_" The American people will soon know him as the Iron Patriot."_

"Iron patriot?" Rose muttered, "Jarvis, put something good"

The channel changed again this time to some talk show

_"And how is President Ellis responding?"_

_"By taking the guy they call War Machine and giving him a paint job. The same suit, but painted red, white and blue. Look at that. And they also renamed him, "_Iron Patriot._" You know, just in case the paint was too subtle."_

* * *

After dressing in a cute yellow wrap dress with a black bow belt. She tied her hair into a high ponytail and pulled some black lace wedges just in time to see Tony exit his room, ready as well

They went to a casual diner-bar where Rhodey met them

"It tested well with focus groups, all right?" Rhodey reasoned

Tony scoffed

"Yeah sure, but Iron Patriot?" Rose raised a brow

" "I am Iron Patriot!" it sucks." Tony gruffly said

"Listen. "War Machine" was a little too aggressive. All right?" Rhodey added

"Whatever you say" Rose shrugged, Tony agreeing with her

"This sends a better message." Rhodey added but knew that neither of the two are going to buy it, which made him sigh

"So, what's really going on?" Tony asked "With the Mandarin."

"the new terrorist?" Rose asked, sipping her drink, a classic beer

"Yeah" Tony nodded then looked at Rhodey "Seriously, can we talk about this guy?"

"It's classified information, Tony." Rhodey said but then he noticed the look the father-daughter gave him and he sighed again, lowering his voice "Okay, there have been nine bombings."

"Nine?" Rose asked. Didn't the news say there were 3?

"The public only knows about three." Rhodey added "But here's the thing, nobody can ID a device. There's no bomb casings."

"You know we can help." Tony said "Just ask. I got a ton of new tech. I got a prehensile suit."

Rose picked up from there "It also got a bomb disposal. It catches explosions in mid-air. And my suit is battle ready too, by the way" she added, finishing her drink

Rhodey looked at them both and then narrowed his eyes "When's the last time either of you got a good night's sleep?"

"Einstein slept three hours a year." Rose chirped and Tony agreed

"Look what he did."

"People are concerned about you both, guys" Rhodey added "I'm concerned about you. Don't look away, Rosie. I know you are barely functioning too"

"You're going to come at us like that?" Tony chuckled

"No, look, I'm not tr-" Rhodey paused as Rose's phone went off

"It's Pep" she said and answered "Hey…..okay..uh-huh…I'll be there right now" and she hung up

"What's up?" tony asked

"Some company called AIM wants us to fund their research. Pep wants me to handle it"

"sure" tony nodded

"gotta go" She smiled, picking u her stuff. She leaned, gave Tony and Rhodey each a kiss on the cheek and left

* * *

She apparated at an alley close to the office and entered. People and workers equally greeted her as she headed for her office. She appeared on her floor and saw Pepper walking to her office, Happy with her

"Tony has got them in his basement. They're wearing party hats. This is an asset that we can put to use."

"Uh-huh. So, you're suggesting that Rose replaces the entire janitorial staff with robots." Pepper nodded, half listening as she took a folder from another employee " Thank you."

"What I'm saying is that the human element of human resources is our biggest point of vulnerability. We should start phasing it out immediately." Happy replied and rose decided to interrupt the moment

"Good thing I'm not a complete human, then, huh?"

Pepper and Happy turned around and looked at her approach

"That was fast" Pepper noticed

Rose just gave her an innocent smile

Pepper took a huge breath and then turned to Happy "Look, Happy, I am thrilled that you are now the Head of Security. Okay?"

"It is the perfect position for you." Rose added

"Thank you." Happy smiled

"However..." Pepper began but Happy interrupted her

"I do appreciate it."

"...since you've taken the post..."

"You don't have to thank me."

"...we've had a rise in staff complaints of 300%."

"Thank you."

"Hap, it's not a compliment." Rose softly said

"It's not..." Happy stopped then was about to say something when Brittany approached them

"Ms. Stark, your 4:00 is here."

"Thank you." Rose smiled at her

"Did you clear this 4:00 with me?" Happy asked

"Happy, we'll talk about this later" Pepper said and Happy walked away, sad

Rose walked closer to Pepper

"Really? 300%?"

"I downplayed it a little" Pepper admitted

"Thought you were going to cover up for me today"

"I still was. But then this very annoying thing came up."

"How so?" Rose asked

"Before Tony hired me, I used to work with him and he used to ask me out all the time, so it's a little awkward."

"Ex-issues" Rose hummed with a teasing smile "How do you want me to tear him? Royally or subtly?"

Pepper gave her a look

"Don't murder him"

Rose raised her hands in a placating manner "but I don't like the sound of that." She added and entered her office, Pepper in tow

In her office stood a handsome man, maybe a little younger than Tony. He had dark blonde hair, nice grey eyes and stubble. He was kinda good looking

"Pepper" he greeted

"Killian?" Pepper asked

"You look great. You look really great." Killian said

"God, you look great. L... l... I...What on earth have you been doing?"

"Nothing fancy. Just five years in the hands of physical therapists." Killian smiled

Okay. Rose was awkward-ed. They were talking like she wasn't even there. Rose softly cleared her throat and jabbed Pepper as discretely as possible

"Oh. I'm sorry. Killian, this is Rose Stark, CEO of Stark industries" Pepper introduced her

"good to meet you, Mr. Killian" Rose smiled, shaking hands with him "I've heard about you"

"Good things I hope" Killian chuckled "And please, call me Aldrich."

Rose nodded "So, Pepper mentioned something about your research"

Killian made both the women take a seat and started explaining his research

* * *

"…the President's ban on "immoral" biotech research, my think tank now has a little something in the pipeline. It's an idea we like to call EXTREMIS. I'm gonna turn your lights down."

Rose inwardly smirked. No one can control Jarvis unless he wants them to

Even after trying a couple of times when nothing happened, he looked sheepishly at Rose

"Sorry. Jarvis is just a little temperamental" she meekly answered "J? dim the lights buddy"

"Of course, Ms. Stark"

The lights dimmed. Pepper shot Rose a look which the young CEO completely ignored

"Regard the human brain." Killian started, tossing three metallic balls on the table. The balls blinked and a hologram of the universe appeared

"Uh... Wait, hold on, hold on." Killian muttered

"That's..." Pepper muttered

"That's the universe. My bad." Killian chuckled "But if I do that..."

The image changed into something Rose had seen a couple of times. The neuronic version of human brain

"That's the brain." Killian beamed "Strangely mimetic, though, wouldn't you say?"

Pepper opened her mouth to say something but stopped, looking at Rose. Killian looked at her too

"It's pretty" Rose said with a soft smile. Something about Killian wasn't right. Her magic was making her edgy. The guy was not who he pretended to be, that was for sure

"Thanks, it's mine."

"What?" Roe asked, now interested.

"This. You're inside my head." Killian chuckled "It's a live feed." He tapped at some device strapped behind his left ear and climbed on top of the table.

"Come on up, I'll prove it to you. Come on." and extended his hand to Rose. Rose looked at the hand for a second, before grabbing it and climbing on top of the table

"Now, pinch my arm."

Rose blinked twice. Was this guy serious? Rose spared a quick look at Pepper, who seemed equally surprised

Killian's chuckle got both of their attention "I can take it. Pinch me."

Rose shrugged and pinched his arm with her long nails and a certain spot on the brain hologram glowed for a second

"Was that the primary somatosensory cortex?" Rose asked

"Yes. It was" Killian chuckled "I didn't expect you to know, no offence"

Rose looked at him "I'm a scientist as well, Mr. Killian"

Killian nodded "But that is not what I wanted to show you. This is what I wanted to show you."

There was a beep as Killian zoomed in on a certain part

"Now, EXTREMIS harnesses our bioelectrical potential and it goes here. This is essentially an empty slot and what his tells us is that our mind, our entire DNA, in fact, is destined to be upgraded."

Rose nodded as she absorbed everything in. Killian sclosed it and the two stepped down and took their seats back

"Imagine if you could hack into the hard drive of any living organism and recode its DNA."

"That would be incredible." Rose agreed as Killian beamed

"Unfortunately, Mr. Killian, to my ears, it also sounds highly weaponisable. As in, enhanced soldiers, private armies, and dad is.." Rose stopped when she heard him chuckle

"Tony," he slightly shook his head "You know, I invited your father to join AIM 13 years ago. He turned me down. But something tells me now there's a new genius on the throne who doesn't have to answer to Tony anymore and who has slightly less of an ego."

Rose sucked in a breath "You are half right, Mr. Killian. I may be the new genius on throne but I'm still very much Tony Stark's daughter. His opinion always does matter to me and I'll be accountable to him." She paused "It's gonna be a no. while your project here is quite amazing in itself, but altering a person's DNA can create mutants. I think this world can handle only one hulk. And what are the odds that a technology like this won't end up at the enemies hands? You can never be too careful." She again paused "Besides, I think human experimentation is still illegal. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here"

Killian nodded with a soft smile

"Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed." He stood up and so did Rose and Pepper "But then, as my father used to say, "Failure is the fog through which we glimpse triumph.""

"That's very deep." Rose agreed

"Hmm."

"It's got a beautiful meaning" she added with a smile

"Well, I'm glad someone understood it. I never had any idea what it meant" Killian chuckled "He was kind of an idiot, my old man." He chuckled again "thank you for sparing some time out of your busy schedule, Ms. Stark"

"It's perfectly alright, Mr. Killian. I'm glad that people are trying new things out there" Rose smiled, shaking hands with him with him one last time. He nodded and looked at Pepper who stood behind Rose

"I'm sure I'll see you again, Pepper."

Pepper gave him a curt nod "Lemme walk you out, Aldrich"

And she left with him. Once they were gone, Rose looked at the ceiling once

"Jarvis lock my room for everyone but Pepper, Brittany and Happy."

There was a soft click

"Get me everything there is on Aldrich Killian"


	3. Chapter 3

And that was how Pepper found her. Sitting on the sofa, looking over some holographic info. Pepper craned her neck to read the name and then looked at Rose

"Why are you looking for Killian?"

Rose almost jumped, startled

"It's nothing" Rose answered and with a hand gesture, closed it all

"Happy is waiting downstairs for us"

"Go ahead, I'll be there in 2"

But Pepper didn't move. She just folded her arms with a glare. Rose sighed, got up, put back her shoes, picked her purse

"Can we?"

* * *

Rose drove the two of them to their house

"So why were you looking into Aldrich's file?"

Rose kept her poker face then answered

"How long did you work for him?" she asked in return

"less than 2 years. Why? What's going on?"

"I don't like him"

"What do you mean?"

Rose took a deep breath

"Something about him is off." She spared Pepper a look "He's making my magic edgy"

Pepper's eyes slightly widened. That wasn't good. Her magic when reacted to something, then it was a warning sign

"Edgy as in?" Pepper prodded

"In a whole protective sense" rose shrugged "Maybe it's nothing"

"Rose.."

"I was in a war less than a year ago. Maybe it's one of those aftermaths that show up late" Rose reasoned "Look, don't worry, okay. Maybe I was just going paranoid. It's probably nothing"

Pepper nodded with a gulp. She didn't like the way Rose talked about her magic and Killian. She knew that even if Rose didn't take those warning signs, she would definitely take some precautions.

And them her attention was grabbed by something.

Just outside the house was a enormous stuffed bunny

"What have you been upto, dad?" Rose muttered

"Maybe he did something he doesn't want us to find out about" Pepper guessed

"Probably" Rose agreed as the two women entered the house.

"We're sorry, we're late. We were…" Pepper paused and both the women stopped walking when they saw iron man lounging in their sitting room

"What the…" Rose trailed off "What is that?"

"You're wearing this in the house now?" Pepper demanded "What is that, like, Mark 15?"

Pepper turned away to sit while Rose narrowed her eyes as her father checked the handplate

"Something like that." He answered

"It's Mark 42" Rose answered, taking a seat close to Pepper herself

"Yeah whatever" Tony brushed it off "You know, everybody needs a hobby."

"Oh, and you have to wear your hobby in the living room?" Pepper sarcastically bit back

"Just breaking it in. You know, it's always a little pinchy in the gooey bag -at first, so..." Tony chuckled, stopping

"I know that feeling" rose muttered, removing her own shoes. Tony snapped his metallic fingers at her and then moved to stand behind Pepper

"Well, hey, did you see your Christmas present?" he asked the redhead

"I think even Asgard can see it" Rose replied

Pepper chuckled, trying to suppress her laugh and Rose could practically see Tony frowning or rolling his eyes at her

The Pepper took a deep breath "Yes, I did. I...I don't know how I could've missed that Christmas present. Is it gonna fit through the door?"

"It's a good question. I got a team of guys coming tomorrow. They're gonna blow out that wall."

"Okay."

"So, uh..."

"Where's my Christmas present?" Rose asked

Tony looked at her and Rose clearly figured out that he forgot. Was this guy even for real?

"It's waiting in your lab"

He didn't forget. That's weird.

"Okay" Rose drawled off, leaning back

"Tense? Good day? Huh?" Tony asked, walking towards the two

"Don't" Rose warned him as he walked past her and stood behind Pepper and started massaging her shoulder "Ooh, shoulders, a little knotty. Naughty girl."

"And that's my cue" Rose got up as quickly as possible and headed for her room. She quickly changed into some relaxing pajamas and a loose tshirt and headed back downstairs to hear tony say

"Except there's been" he stuttered "a radiation leak."

Radiation leak?

"That's risky. I'll take my chances" And Pepper headed for the lab. Rose narrowed her eyes as Tony tried following her and Rose did

"At least, let me get you like, a hazmat suit you can..." Tony tried

"A Geiger counter or something like that." Rose muttered, following Rose and then suddenly yelped when the suit picked her up

"Put me down, dad"

"Or maybe not. You are light. Lost some weight or something?"

"How about you put me down?"

Tony followed. Rose turned and stopped cold. Pepper was at the lab's door were Tony really was, wearing a modified controller on his face

"Busted." He muttered guiltily

"This is a new level of lame." Pepper said

"Sorry." Tony apologized

And then Rose noticed the empty plate

"You ate without us already?" Rose asked "On a family night?"

"He was just..." Tony started

"You mean you." Pepper snapped

"Well, yeah, I just mean we were just hosting you...both...while I finished up a little work."

Both the women scoffed in disbelief

"Uh-huh." They chorused

"And yes, I had a quick bite. I didn't know if you were coming home or you were having drinks with Aldrich Killian."

That got both their attention

"What?" they both demanded, eyes wide

"Aldrich Killian?" Pepper asked

"What, are you checking up on me?" Rose asked

"Happy was concerned." Tony reasoned

"No, you're spying on me. And Pep" Rose frowned, folding her arms

"I wasn't."

"I'm going to bed." Pepper said in a final tone

"Me too" Rose added

"Hold on." Tony said and both of them stopped "Come on. Pep? Rosie?" his voice dropped a little "Hey, I admit it. My fault. Sorry. I'm a piping hot mess. It's been going on for a while. I haven't said anything. Nothing's been the same since New York."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice that at all." Pepper bit back

"You experience things and then they're over, and you still can't explain them. Gods, aliens, other dimensions. I'm just a man in a can. The only reason I haven't cracked up is probably because of you both. Which is great. I love you both. I'm lucky for having two such beautiful women in my life. But honey, I can't sleep. You go to bed, I come down here. I do what I know. I tinker. I..." he sighed "Threat is imminent. And I have to protect the two things that I can't live without. That's both of you. And my suits, they're, uh...Machines. They're part of me."

Pepper and rose studied him with a long look

"A distraction." Pepper said

"Maybe." Tony sighed

Pepper swallowed slightly and exchanged a look with Rose, who tiredly nodded back

"I'm gonna take a shower." Pepper said

"Okay."

"And you're gonna join me."

"Better."

Rose tried not to gag.

"and I'll try to salvage some dinner" She chimed, running to the kitchen

* * *

After having whatever dinner rose could cook, the three retired to bed.

Rose slig under the covers and closed her eyes. She turned restlessly about the bed multiple times but sleep never came. With a grunt she stood up and walking to her potions closet, pulled a sleeping potion and drank a gulp. She returned to her bed and soon sleep took over.

* * *

No. Rose's breathing hardened as she looked around. The destruction and death. The buildings were huge rubble. A loud screech made her look up and her eyes widened at the plethora of flying slugs coming out of a familiar wormhole.

"Rose"

A shiver ran down her spine at the groaning voice. She looked around, trying to find the source when she finally spotted him.

Tony was among some huge debris, barely moving. Rose slowly made her way to her father and then gasped. He was bleeding through his head and lips. There were some thick bruises under his right eye too.

Rose's eyes widened and pressed her hands on her mouth to suppress the gasp.

First thing she noticed was his arc reactor glowing furiously, fading to black. And then a Chitauri weapon that had impaled him. Tears started spilling from her eyes. Before she could reactor further, Rose heard another groan. Rose heard another groan. She turned around and a chocked sob escaped her. Steve laid there and the whole Avenger team behind him.

"You let him take us"

Rose whipped around and looked at her father

"You could have prevented this, but you didn't. Why, Rosie?"

"I…I…."Rose sobbed. An inhuman screech startled her. She turned around to see a whole horde of Chitauri, pointing their weapons at her

"No" Rose whispered, trying to step back but stumbled on some rubble, resulting in her to fall down. The aliens closed in on her and the one right in front of her snarled before he pointed his stick at her.

"No. Stop"

The stick started glowing as Rose quickly covered her eyes. Then there was a female scream and it took a moment for Rose to realize that it was her who was screaming.

* * *

"ROSE!"

"What!" Rose bolted awake as she sat on her bed. She was panting like she had just ran a marathon and was completely covered in sweat. Her thin sleepwear was clinging to her body because of that sweat. Her hair was all tangled with some part sticking to her face.

"Drink this"

Someone pressed a glass to her lips and tilted it as water entered her mouth. Once the glass was empty, it was removed and someone cupped her face, coming in her view.

"Pepper?" she muttered, swallowing

"How're you feeling?" she softly asked

"I..I…Dad?" she whispered looking worriedly at her "Where's dad?"

"Ro-"

"No. Pepper, where's dad?" she asked, worry starting to increase

"Shhhh" Pepper cupped her face again "you were just having a nightmare, sweetness. Your dad's just fine. He's in his room. Okay?"

Pepper almost winced when Rose didn't look convinced

"Uh…" Pepper muttered and then looked at the ceiling "JARVIS, where's Tony?"

"Mr. Stark is in his room, Ms. Potts"

"See" Pepper looked at Rose "Like I said. Your dad's safe. It was a dream. Nothing real."

"I…" rose looked around still a little restless "I screamed"

"you did. But that was because of that nightmare. It's fine, Rosie. It's all fine"

Rose nervously nodded, hesitance still very much showing.

"can I get another glass o-"

"Sure!"

Pepper reached and poured anther glass of water for Rose and handed it to her, who greedily drank from it. Once done, Pepper took the glass back and kept it on the bedside table as Rose wiped her mouth.

"Are we good?"

"I guess"

Pepper nodded

"What's wrong?" Rose asked after a minute. Pepper opened her mouth but rose interrupted her

"don't lie"

Pepper inhaled sharply

"We had an argument" Pepper answered "I'd rather sleep on the couch than with him tonight"

Rose nodded and then shifted over

"I've got space" Rose smiled, patting the bedding next to her "And frankly, I'd rather not sleep alone tonight, not anymore"

Pepper beamed and then slipped into the bed next to her boss and slipped under the covers. Rose reached and switched the lights off, slipped into the covers as well.

* * *

Next day, both the women left for office at the same time. And as soon as Rose got a couple of spare minutes, she placed a call

_"Hello?"_

"Steve?" Rose asked then let out a relieved sigh "thank god you answered"

_"Rose? Is everything okay? Are you hurt?"_

"no. Not yet" she chuckled "But I needed to call you"

"_why?_"

Rose took a deep breath "Majorly because I left you hanging there in Manhattan with no explanation whatsoever. I'm really sorry, Steve. The work just showed up and the Board of Directors started demanding my presence and then asking me to sort out my priorities and I w-"

_"Hey hey hey!"_ Steve chuckled _"Relax. It's fine. I understand, trust me, I do"_ he chuckled again _"You run a company. It is important to you"_

"thanks" rose whispered back

_"but what I don't get it is why called me to apologize for what happened 8 months ago?"_

Rose's face warmed up. Of course she hadn't called him in 8 months. And now she called him out of the blue just to make sure he was okay. What the hell was wrong here with her?

"Well I…you know….I was ju-"

There was a knock on the door and Pepper entered. She had a look of urgency on her face

"I'm sorry, Steve, but I gotta go. Business calls"

_"Yeah okay. I'll s-"_

But Rose hung up as she faced Pepper "what happened?"

"You, me and Tony. We are going on a vacation"

Rose gave pepper a long look

* * *

"What?" Pepper asked, driving, as she noticed Rose looking disturbed

"This is ridiculous" Rose muttered

"No it's not" Pepper argued

"Pep, we are taking a vacay in the middle of everything. It's not even weekend"

"Well you and Tony need some of it, okay. You both are clearly not sleeping and Rose, how many times did you need to use sleep inducing stuff"

Rose snorted.

"You need a break"

"Maybe what we need is a psych eval" Rose scoffed

"What?" Pepper gave her a look

Rose sharply inhaled

"It think it's PTSD" Rose softly said

"I thought you were okay" Pepper looked at Rose "the episodes stopped"

"But this whole Manhattan thing triggered it again. A-and I think dad having the s-same issue"

Pepper sharply inhaled but said nothing as she pulled at their house.

"I'm gonna get a shower" Rose muttered, rushing to her room. Pepper took another deep breath as she made her way to her and Tony's bedroom

* * *

Rose sighed deeply as she felt warm water on her skin. Her muscles were a little knotty and she swore that if it all went well, she was going a have a complete day for spa.

Rose softly started craning her neck to release a little tension.

Her phone buzzed. She quickly wiped her wet hand to the towel and picked it up, really hoping it wasn't some last moment business call. And thankfully it wasn't. But it was something worse.

There was a notification on her phone which said

"Tony Stark's ex bodyguard hurt in a Mandarin attack" was the news headline

"What the hell?" Rose muttered and quickly switching the water off, wrapped a towel around her body and hair and literally ran out

"Jarvis, turn the news on"

The TV switched in to some random news channel

_"We're hoping he'll give us the reaction...His reaction to the latest attack."_ The reporter said

There was literally a sea of reporters outside the hospital, all waiting for Tony to exit. Happy was hurt? Why didn't he call her? Or Pepper?

The reporters clamoured just as Tony walked out, all rushing for his attention

_"Mr Stark, hi there."_

_"Mr Stark.."_

_"Our sources are telling us that all signs are pointing to another Mandarin attack. Anything else you can tell us?"_

But Tony just ignored everyone. Rose was thankful that he wasn't snapping. Good. But then some jerk off reporter came into the spotlight

_"Hey Stark"_

Tony stopped and looked at the gum chewing man

_"When is somebody gonna kill this guy?"_ he then shrugged _"I'm just saying."_

Rose's eyes widened as she fell on the bed

"Please tell me he didn't ask that"

"I'm afraid mam, but he did"

"the question was rhetorical" Rose muttered under her breath

And it was bad. No worse, because it had gotten Tony's attention.

_"Is that what you want?"_ tony asked, facing the man _"Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin."_

"Dad, no. Don't do this" Rose muttered.

_"I just didn't know how to phrase it until now."_ Tony removed his sunglasses and then stared right into the man's camera

_"My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward. So I've decided that you just died, pal. __I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here. It's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon, __it's just you and me. And on the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. 10880 Malibu Point. I'll leave the door unlocked."_ Tony paused and then looked at the man _"That's what you wanted, right?"_ And then in a swift motion, grabbed the man's phone and threw it at the nearest wall

_"Bill me."_

And he got into his car

"Where is dad's idea of self-preservation?" she asked

"I believe that the idea of self preservation lacks in the Stark family"

Rose frowned, looking at the ceiling

"you don't need to be so snarky about it"

With a deep sigh, rose got up and got changed into a nice pair of jeans, a Henley and a hoodie jacket and started packing a small travel bag.

"On a completely related note, Jarvis, put the house on lockdown for anyone who isn't authorized by me or dad"


	4. Chapter 4

About 30 minutes later, Rose made her way to the basement to her lab. It was just a floor below Tony's.

Originally Tony had wanted her to take the upper lab, but she preferred the lower one because explosions in there caused much less damage comparatively.

Rose stopped when she saw tony in his lab, sitting idly on the table

Rose took a breath and entered the room and wasn't surprised when Tony didn't notice her. She crept behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck dipping her chin on his shoulder

"House is on lockdown" she muttered

Tony took a deep breath "You saw it, didn't you"

"I don't know what to say" Rose replied, softly headbutting him, which made him chuckle "How's Happy?"

"Badly injured. He's there in the ICU and I just threatened a terrorist and…"

"Shhh" rose whispered

"What's going on with me Rosie?"

"You were pissed. It's explainable"

"Is it?" Tony turned to look at her

"It is" Rose agreed "Hell I threatened Tom Riddle all those years ago. You think that was smart?"

"That was suicidal" Tony snorted, looking back on the floor

"But he pissed me" Rose reasoned "But the point is, I came on top. You can too, Daddy"

Rose felt Tony freeze for a second but then relax under her touch. She only called him daddy when she wanted to get some work done or was buttering him up, but it was neither occasion.

Tony took another deep breath and nodded

"What were you going to do?"

"See if I can figure out something"

"I knew you'd say that" Rose muttered and looked at the ceiling

"J?"

Suddenly several holographic papers appeared before them

"A Mandarin database for you, mam, drawn from S.H.l.E.L.D., FBI and CIA intercepts." Jarvis paused "Initiating virtual crime scene reconstruction."

Tony gave Rose a look of disbelief and kissed her temple

"This is why you are my favorite daughter"

"I'm your only daughter" Rose laughed "Well, unless you have another secret child I have no clue about. Do you?"

Tony scoffed as Rose pulled back her arms and he stood up

"Okay. What have we got here?" Tony walked to the middle of the scene, Rose taking his position on the table

Tony looked around at the movie poster

"The name is an ancient Chinese war mantle meaning "adviser to the king." And several other things South American insurgency tactics. Talks like a Baptist preacher." He muttered "There's lots of pageantry going on here. Lots of theatre. Close." All the posters and bright visuals closed, leaving the rest of the crime scene

"The heat from the blast was in excess of 3,000 degrees Celsius." Jarvis provided "Any subjects within 12.5 yards were vaporised instantly."

"No bomb parts found in a three-mile radius of the Chinese Theatre?" Rose asked, slightly frowning

"No, mam."

"Talk to me, Happy." Tony muttered. Happy's holographic form appeared on the virtual ground

"When is a bomb not a bomb?" Tony muttered

Rose deeply concentrated when she heard that statement. A bomb is a bomb all the time. When is it not?

"J? was magic involved?" Rose asked. Tony looked at her and apparently the same thought had stuck to him. And a Bombarda Maxima can cause an explosion like that without any casing.

"No, mam"

Rose frowned. That didn't make her feel any better as she scanned the crime scene

"Is it only me or does it seem like Happy's pointing at something there?" Rose asked, pointing at the direction Happy's finger was pointing. Tony walked to the direction and looked at the spot where a couple of dog tags were lying

"Any military victims?" Tony asked

"Not according to public record, sir."

"Bring up the thermogenic signatures again." Tony asked and made his way back to the table and sat next to Rose.

"Factor in 3,000 degrees."

"The Oracle cloud has completed analysis." And a temperature record of the temperature came up

"Accessing satellites and plotting the last 12 months of thermogenic occurrences now." Jarvis added. The map changed to that of the whole country and every place with excess of heat were marked with temperature gradients next to them

"Take away everywhere that there's been a Mandarin attack." Tony ordered and the places without Mandarin attacks vanished

"Nope." Tony muttered, vanishing others before his eyes found the one he was looking for "That."

All the other spots vanished except the one Tony had pointed at.

"Are you sure that's not one of his?" Tony asked

"It predates any known Mandarin attack. The incident was the use of a bomb to assist a suicide."

"Bring her around." Tony asked. The other places vanished except that one, which zoomed on

"The heat signature is remarkably similar. 3,000 degree Celsius."

"And who was the person who committed suicide?" Rose asked as the profile of the man appeared.

"That's two military guys." Rose muttered

Tony snorted and looked at Rose

"We've never been to Tennessee, have we Rosie?"

"not that I remember" Rose chuckled

"Jarvis?" Tony looked at the ceiling

"Creating a flight plan for Tennessee."

And there was a ding-dong!

"Are we still at ding-dong?" Tony frowned and looked at Rose "You said we're supposed to be on total...security lockdown." Tony scoffed, jumping off the table and heading for the door "Come on, I threatened a terrorist."

Rose was hot on his heels

"Who is that?" she asked

"There's only so much I can do, sir, when you give the world's press your home address." Jarvis bit back

"Ouch" Rose muttered, rushing upstairs. There she saw Tony entering back into the house, following by an average looking brunette.

"Okay, look, I need to be alone with you, someplace not here." She said "It's urgent."

"Normally, I'd go for that sort of thing, but now I'm in a committed relationship."

"It's..." she started when she saw Rose there. Rose frowned when she felt the woman's eyes all over her

"Isn't she a little young for you?"

Tony chocked on air and Rose's face heated

"Not her" Tony managed "That's my daughter, Rose"

The woman smiled, face flushing, as she shyly waved at her. Rose softly smiled back.

"Actually I'm in a relationship with.."

And then two black duffel bags were tossed from above which barely missed hitting Tony

"with her." He finished

"Is somebody there?" Pepper asked, coming down

"Yeah," Tony answered, fidgeting his fingers "It's Maya Hansen."

Rose raised a brow at her father who easily ignored her. Hadn't he stated earlier that he didn't know her?

"Ah..." the brunette smirked

"Old botanist pal that I used to know, barely." Tony called as Rose came to stand next to him. Tony quickly turned and faced Maya

"Please don't tell me there's a 12-year-old kid waiting in the car that I've never met."

Rose looked at her father is surprise. So Maya was that type of friend

"He's 13." Maya corrected. Rose almost chocked on the air but she swore that tony's look was absolutely priceless

"No," she quickly added "I need your help."

"But, what for? Why now?"

"Because I read the papers and frankly, I don't think you'll last the week."

"I'll be fine."

The footsteps sounded as Pepper came down

"..with Happy in the hospital, I didn't know we were expecting guests."

"We weren't." tony replied

"And old girlfriends." Pepper added

"She's not, really." Tony countered "No, not really. I..."

"it was just one night." Maya butted in

"That's how you did it, isn't it?" Pepper looked at Tony

"It was a great night." Tony replied. Rose almost winced. He was just making it worse

Pepper smiled and looked at Maya

"You saved yourself a world of pain."

"What?" Tony asked

"Trust me." Pepper smiled at Maya then looked at Tony "We're going out of town."

"Okay. We've been through this."

And the two started arguing. Maya looked as uncomfortable as Rose did

"does it happen often?"

Rose almost jumped when she found that Maya had sided closely towards her

"Not like this" Rose replied.

Still uncomfortable, Maya started looking around when her eyes settled on Pepper's Christmas gift in the living room

"Is... Is that normal?" she asked, pointing at the rabbit

Before Rose could answer, pepper did

"Sadly, that is very normal"

"Yes, this is normal!" Tony exclaimed "It's a big bunny. Relax about it"

And they resumed arguing

"I'm really debating if I should intervene or get some popcorn" Rose muttered

Maya scoffed and turned around to look at the house. Anywhere but at the arguing couple

"Guys?" she called after a while

Rose took a sharp breath, pinching her nose

"Pepper? Dad?" she tried but the couple were too engrossed in their argument

"Um…Rose, is it?"

"huh" Rose turned around and looked at the brunette, who was looking at the TV

"Do we need to worry about that?" Maya asked

Rose looked at the TV and her eyes widened. A nuke was heading for them!

"Break these two!" Rose muttered and rushed to the balcony and closed her eyes, trying to conjure as big of a shield as she could to protect the front part of the house.

And then the missile came.

Rose grunted hard. The missile came in touch with the shield and exploded, but it did wear her out to handle a missile explosion.

"ROSE!"

At another whizzing sound, Rose turned to her right and she paled. Another missile was heading from that direction. And before rose could move her shield to that direction, the missile hit the pillar right below her and exploded.

Rose tried to apparate as the floor below her started falling but something hit her hard on the head. Rubble. Rose tried conjuring another shield but it started flickering before it vanished and something hit her on the chest. And then her head hit something very hard and everything around her started going fuzzy. Rose tried calling her magic to react, but then her body hit the water surface and everything went black.

* * *

Washington DC, SHIELD Headquarters

Steve grunted, finishing his boxing routine in the SHIELD gym. It had been a normal day for him. He hadn't got any missions as of late, but he still preferred to be in up shape.

Once done, he removed bandages from his hands and threw them on the bench. He gazed down at his phone. Nothing.

Which made him sigh.

He didn't know what to do. Or feel.

After returning to the surface from ice, Rose had quickly captured his interest and attention. She was so beautiful that words couldn't define her. And he remembered the first time he saw her- at the gym. She was a fighter. And had extraordinary powers. And on top of all that, ran her family company, a businesswoman.

Steve wouldn't admit it loud and it was something about Rose that attracted him towards her. She was a Stark in all but looks, but at the same time, she was more considerate and sweet and feisty.

He was still surprised that she had actually slapped her own father after the stunt he had pulled with the nuke and the wormhole.

He still remembered the way she squealed at the sight of the ice cream shop and never missed a chance to tease him. Unlike Tony, in his opinion, she tried to be as discreet with her powers as she could.

But then he had ruined their budding acquaintance by asking her about her mother. He was later informed by Natasha that though nobody knew who was Rose's mother in reality, though many presumed her to be dead. And he felt like apologizing for it. But then she left without a word. For eight months.

He had contemplated on calling her on many occasions and had went as far as almost leaving her a voicemail but then he chickened out. And then out of the blue, she called him, as if he was okay.

That was weird. But he had assured her that he was fine. And before he could say something more she had hung up saying something related to her business came up. And it was radio silence since then as well.

He was attracted to her. Even Peggy told him so. And she told him that if that was the case, he should chase her and tell her the truth. She wanted him to move on. She already had. And somewhere, he wanted too.

It was decided. No matter what, Steve was going to call Rose and tell her. Whatever maybe the outcome, he was at least going to admit his feelings for her, irrespective of the fact whether she felt the same or not.

Steve picked his gym and bag and quickly changing back into his casuals, he walked out.

"Steve"

He turned around and spotted Natasha approaching him. She had a very unreadable expression on her

"What happened?" he asked

"Come with me. Now"

And Steve followed. She led him to Fury's cabin where news was playing. Fury spared him a glance, but then looked back at the TV

It looked like a house, or mansion, built on top of a cliff over the sea, blasted and destroyed.

_"…attack has been speculated to be orchestrated by the terrorist Mandarin. Earlier today, Iron Man, billionaire and ex-CEO of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, had openly threatened Mandarin after his former bodyguard was gravely injured in a mandarin attack._

_As of now, the better part of the Stark Mansion in Malibu has been destroyed with military grade missiles of unknown origin. According to the reports, out of the four people who were present in the house at that time, only two of them have made it out. Dr. Maya Hansen and Ms. Pepper Potts being the survivors. Neither of the Starks have been found as they have been reported to fall into the sea along with the huge amount of debris. It's been 6 hours since the attack and seeing the complexity of damage, both Tony Stark and his daughter Rose Stark, the current CEO of Stark Industries, are presumed dead. Final re-"_ and the TV was switched off.

Steve felt a chill run down his spine. Rose and Tony were dead?

"We should check it out" Steve muttered

"We can't." fury replied "Mandarin is not a concern of Shield"

Steve frowned at him "Two of the Avengers are dead!" he exclaimed "and you don't want to see if they really are or not?"

"they are presumed dead, Steve" Natasha said "For all we know, they could have made it out"

Steve frowned at her. Before he could say anything, Fury spoke

"I'll see if I can find something out. The Starks are hard to kill, Rogers." He took a deep breath and a few steps forward "I do care about the avengers. And I'm not going to let two of my best to die. Not so easily" and he walked out.

Steve took a deep breath and walked out. Did universe really hate him that much?


	5. Chapter 5

Rose slowly opened her eyes. A severe throbbing pain erupted from somewhere behind her head, making her groan. A headache. That was just beautiful. It felt as if Thor was hammering on her head with Mjolnir. That wouldn't happen at all, but it was by far the worst headache she had ever had.

She slowly raised her head and looked around. It was all very dark. Concentrating and wincing at every move, Rose managed to get up, only to fall down face first.

"Take your time. But please, don't break that beautiful face of yours"

Rose could swear that she had heard that voice somewhere. She let a small string of curses under her breath as she tried getting up. Her arms wobbled under her body weight. Someone chuckled.

After trying very hard, she finally managed to make it back to the platform she was originally on. Her head rolled back as she tried to calm her speeding heart.

Rose didn't know how long she was lying there like that, but it very long, that she knew.

By the time she finally came to her senses, it was morning and sunlight filtered in through and hit her on her face. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes and looked around for the first time. Within next few moments things became a lot more clearer. It looked like a dungeon cell. Kind of like the ones Malfoys had.

Her first thought was Tony and Pepper. Were they okay? Were they hurt? Rose closed her eyes, trying to spread her magic to detect anything. To her dismay, her magic started flickering before it collapsed. Great so her body was so weak, that couldn't even perform a simple searching spell.

Time for plan B, then.

She got up, wincing at every spike of pain and walked to the iron door and held the bars. The whole aisle looked empty. With a deep shaky sigh, she went back to the platform and settled. Some of her pink gradient hair fell on her shoulder for her to notice that they were stained red.

Good god. It was going to take a lot of hard work to remove blood from her hair. Her body felt weaker by every second.

She heard a distant clanking and then some footsteps.

For the first time in a long time, Rose didn't know what to expect.

The footsteps echoed closer and they stopped right in front of her cell.

Rose scoffed

"Are you still pissed about our meeting, Killian?" Rose asked "Because I'm still not funding your research"

Killian chuckled and slightly shook his head

"You've got the typical Stark snark"

"I am a stark" Rose answered then slightly craned her neck "So, you know Mandarin or do you work for him?"

Killian raised a brow at her and smiled

"You are smarter than I give you credit for"

Rose chuckled

"Well, I'm the new genius on throne" she replied "but seriously what's your deal with Mandarin?"

"What can I say?" Killian paused then looked at her straight in the eye "I'm him"

"At least we cleared that out" Rose snorted and looked down but she still felt Killian's gaze on her. She looked at him

"what?" she asked then paused "Wait. Did you expect me to be impressed or something? You even deepened your voice, didn't you?" Rose snorted "Not impressed"

Killian frowned, obviously taking offence

"Then soon I'll show you something to impress you"

"Yeah. Whatever" Rose waved him off "don't trouble me till then" and she looked away

"I can't help but find it surprising" Killian chuckled "Here you are, a captive of mine, and you still you think you can order me around"

"Maybe you should take pointers on how to impress people. Don't tell me you aren't impressed" rose smirked

"I'm" Killian admitted "I'm very impressed. Especially by this"

Rose frowned as Killian brought forward a tablet and played a video. She paled. It was a video of her conjuring a barrier that took the missile headon. It was taken from somewhere outside the house, probably from one of those helicopters.

Killian paused and glanced at it once "So how did you do it?"

"Me?" Rose scoffed. She really didn't want Killian to find out what all she could do. Nope.

"What even makes you think that I could do that?" Rose almost chuckled

"well, you were one of the 'Avengers'" he used his fingers to air-quote "who were in the Manhattan invasion"

"So?" Rose shrugged "Last I checked, five of the seven Avengers are humans"

"But you don't have any iron armor or super soldier experimentation done on you. We checked."

"first of all, the armor's gold-titanium alloy. Second, super-soldier experiment was banned right after World War II." Rose scoffed "update your facts, Killian"

"that's exactly why I asked. So, Ms. Stark. What are you?" he came closer to to the metal grates

Rose glared at him. A glare McGonagall should be so proud of.

"What I'm is smarter than you."

"You are something" he said, as if he just figured out the world's greatest mystery. Rose scoffed, looked away, arms crossed

"and I'm going to find out what you are" he took a sharp intake "till then, enjoy your captivity"

And he walked out

Rose groaned but did nothing. She needed hell lot of rest before her magic was upto the mark. And something told her it wasn't an option here.

* * *

Tony grunted as he opened the door to a shed and entered. He made his armor rest on the available couch and made his way to the nearest table. It was filled with stuff. Tony looked around if he could find one that could help him repair the suit

"Freeze!"

Tony looked up as a young boy came out of the shadows holding a plastic gun

"Don't move."

"You got me." Tony raised his hands "Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge it's gonna diminish your FPS."

The boy frowned at him and shot at a random tin can, which hit the mark

"And now you're out of ammo."

"What's that thing on your chest?" the boy asked

Tony looked at his reactor then at the boy

"It's an electromagnet. You should know, you got a box of them right here." Tony fiddled with a box of electromagnets

"What does it power?" the boy asked

Tony sighed. He slightly twisted and let the table lamp's light fall on his suit

The boy gasped in awe and his gun fell down with clatters

"Oh, my God."

The boy made his way to him

"That...That's...Is that Iron Man?"

"Technically, I am." Tony answered

"Technically, you're dead." The boy tossed a fresh newspaper on the table. Tony frowned, picking it up and unfolding it.

MANDARIN ATTACK: BOTH STARKS PRESUMED DEAD

Below the headline was a photo of destroyed Malibu house and himself with Rose.

Anger flared inside him. Rose couldn't be dead. His daughter couldn't be dead. Nope.

Tears threatened his eyes. He had just lost his most precious possession. Someone was going to pay. Mandarin was so going to pay.

Tony's grip on the newspaper tightened. And he refused to believe that Rose was dead. No. Rose was as much of a fighter as he was if not more. and he won't believe her to be dead unless he sees her dead-body with his own two eyes. Till then, Rose was alive and kicking.

"What happened to him?"

Tony looked up from the paper, quickly wiping his tears. he threw the paper on the nearby table.

"Life." Tony shrugged "I built him. I take care of him. I'll fix him."

"Like a mechanic?"

"Yeah."

It ached to think that Rose was with him when he was building the suit. Now he had to repair it all alone.

"Hey, if I was building Iron Man and War Machine..." the boy's voice brought him back

"It's "Iron Patriot" now" Tony offhandedly remarked

"That's way cooler!"

Rose hated the name. And so did he

"No, it's not."

"Anyways," the boy shrugged "I would have added in, um, the retro..."

"Retro-reflective panels?" Tony raised a brow

"To make him stealth mode." The boy nodded

"You want a stealth mode?"

"Cool, right?"

Rose would have liked it. She always preferred tiptoeing in dangerous situation rather than entering with all guns blazing

"That's actually a good idea." Tony pondered "Maybe I'll build one." Or maybe he'll add it to Rose's suit. She'd like that for the New Year.

The boy started fiddling with the suit and then pulled out one of its fingers

"Not a good idea." Tony quickly piped

"Oops." the boy humorlessly said

"What are you doing? You're gonna break his finger?" Tony snapped "He's in pain. He's been injured. Leave him alone."

"Sorry." the boy meekly said

"Are you?" Tony asked and then inhaled sharply "Don't worry about it, I'll fix it."

Tony took another breath and glanced at the newspaper and then took a seat next to him

"So, uh, who's home?"

"Well, my mom already left for the diner and Dad went to 7-11 to get scratchers. I guess he won, because that was six years ago." he answered softly

"Hmm." Tony snorted "Which happens. Dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it."

the two sat in silence before Tony snapped up and looked at the boy

"Here's what I need." he looked at the boy "A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone, the pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of town, a big spring and a tuna fish sandwich."

"What's in it for me?" the boy asked

"Salvation." Tony answered and then looked at the boy "What's his name?"

"Who?"

"The kid that bullies you at school. What's his name?"

"How'd you know that?"

But Tony didn't reply.

"I got just the thing."

He reached and pulled something from his suit. It was Rose's idea to put it in the suit. "It would come in handy sometime later" she had told him.

He showed it to the boy

"This is a pinata for a cricket."

The boy gave him a look

"I'm kidding. This is a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top, it discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass. Deal? What do you say?"

"Deal." the boy answered after a couple of seconds

Tony nodded

"What's your name?"

"Harley. And you're..."

"The mechanic." Tony paused "Tony." he nodded once and then faced Harley "You know what keeps going through my head? "Where's my sandwich?""

* * *

Pepper stood on the edge of the destroyed mansion, arms wrapped herself. She still couldn't get it over. Her family was just killed off in a blast. Tony risked his life to save hers. So did Rose. she couldn't control her tears. Amidst the firefighters, cops and reporters, no one came to talk to her. Maya covered in mostly for her. She still couldn't believe that the man she loved and the girl she had always considered a daughter were dead.

She wiped her tears and looked around. she noticed a small beeping voice and a blinking light coming from Tony's helmet. she picked it up and placed it on her head.

"Stark secure server." a female voice said "Retinal scan verified."

And then she heard Tony's voice which made her gasp

_"I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So... First off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again..."_

* * *

Rose took a deep breath. She felt better than the day before but it wasn't good. Her magic still wasn't upto the level which would allow her to send any kind of signal to Malibu. Where was she even?

"Sons of bitches" Rose muttered. They didn't provide her with water or any kind of food. and it only weakened her.

the clanking repeated and then the footsteps. She looked outside, waiting for Killian. But to her surprise, it was someone else

"Don't tell me that your boss is scared to even confront me"

the man didn't react and threw in a small cardboard box.

"Gee thanks" she sneered as the man left. She reached to pick the box and opened it. Inside was a sandwich, a banana and a small water bottle

"How thoughtful" she scoffed, picking the sandwich. Once finished, she screwed open the water bottle and finished it in a gulp. Rose decided to save the banana for later and was about to throw off the box, when she noticed something. a small piece of paper was safely tucked in one corner under the banana. she took it out and unfolded it, keeping the box down.

the moment she read the headline, her eyes widened.

MANDARIN ATTACK: BOTH STARKS PRESUMED DEAD

What the bloody hell?

Rose inhaled sharply. Tony couldn't be dead. no he wasn't. She had nearly lost him 8 months ago in Manhattan but now? again? No. She would never believe Tony to be dead even if Pepper of Jarvis told her so. Nope.

She was alive. and there was a major chance that he'd be too. Okay. So she needed to get out of here, kill this son of a bitch and find Tony and then Pepper.

the paper crumbled in her hand as anger flared inside her. and she realized her eyes glowed for a split second. that was a shocker. her magic had never recharged this quickly. But then Dumbledore had once told her that anger was a great motivator

* * *

Walking around the streets of Tennessee with Harley leading him to the explosion point

"...the spring was a little rusty, the rest of the materials, I'll make do. By the way, when you said your sister had a watch..." Tony looked at the kid's watch on his wrist "...l was kind of hoping for something a little more adult than that."

"It's a limited edition." Harley snorted "When can we talk about New York?"

"Relax about it."

"Can we talk about them? Or your daughter? she's badass, by the way" Harley asked as they approached the burial site. it was filled with candles and photos

"Hey, kid, give me a little space." Tony snapped as subtly as he could and then looked at the place "What's the official story here? What happened?"

"Chad Davis used to live roundabouts. He won a bunch of medals in the army. And one day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb. Then he blew himself up, right here."

Tony walked around the site

"Six people died, right?"

"Yeah"

"Including Chad Davis."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Yeah. That doesn't make sense." Tony muttered

At Harley puzzled look, Tony explained

"Think about it. Six dead. Only five shadows."

"Yeah. People said these shadows are like the marks of souls going to heaven. Except the bomb guy. He went to hell, on account of he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five." Harley explained

"Do you buy that?" Tony looked at him

"It's what everyone says." Harley shrugged "You know what this crater reminds me of?"

"No idea. I'm not..." Tony inhaled sharply "I don't care."

"That giant Wormhole in, um, in New York. Does it remind you?"

"That's manipulative." Tony scoffed. But then again, he had seen Rose us the same technique of manipulation on others to fish out stuff. He was glad that he was never on the receiving end. While Harley was still amateur when it came to manipulation, Rose was a pro.

"I don't want to talk about it." Tony snapped

"Are they coming back? The aliens?"

"Maybe. Can you stop?" Tony frowned at Harley when he realized his breathing getting shallower and faster. He almost collapsed on the ground, Harley right next to him

"Remember what I told you, that I have an anxiety issue?" Tony huffed

"Does this subject make you edgy?"

"Yeah, a little bit. Can I just catch my breath for a second?"

"Are there bad guys in Rose Hill? Do you need a plastic bag to breathe into?"

Tony wheezed and glared at Harley

"Do you have medication?" Harley asked

"No."

"Do you need to be on it?"

"Probably."

"Do you have PTSD?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you going completely mental? I can stop. Do you want me to stop?"

"Remember when I said" Tony wheezed again "to stop doing that? I swear that you're gonna freak me out."

Tony wheezed harder and his breathing hardened. It took him proper ten minutes to calm down and once he did, he sighed loudly and then groaned. Now he really hoped that Rose was here. She had always had a calming effect on him.

"Ah, man, you did it, didn't you? You happy now?"

"What did I say?"

Tony just got up and started walking away

"Hey! Wait up!" Harley called, running after him

Tony panted, walking around

"What the hell was that?" Harley asked

"Your fault." Tony snapped "You spazzed me out. Okay, back to business. Where were we?" Tony sniffed "The guy who died. Relatives? Mom? Mrs Davis, where is she?"

"Where she always is."

"See? Now, you're being helpful."


	6. Chapter 6

Heading for the town's bar, Tony paused when someone collided into him. Some girl

"Uh...Sorry." Tony said but something caught his eye, a fallen purse "Lady?" he called "Is this, uh..."

the woman returned and took the purse from him. and then Tony saw her complete face where one side of her face was marred in scars

"Thank you." she smiled

"Nice haircut. it suits you." Tony replied

"Nice watch." she smirked

"Yeah. A limited edition." tony replied

"Oh, I don't doubt it." the woman chuckled "Well, have a good evening."

* * *

Rose sat on the platform, eyes closed head leaned back. she was somehow trying to get so angry to charge herself to the max. and she had half accomplished. It wasn't much but a little more and she could maybe apparate. only problem- she could end up splinching herself so bad that her next 5-6 months might be in some hospital but technically anywhere was better than here.

no one had bothered to approach the whole day after the obvious food run in the morning. the hunger only made her head ache. and it was obviously what Killian was expecting off her. And if she didn't make a fool of Killian in front of his own men, she'd forbid being Rose Stark.

A sudden clang broke her concentration. She opened her eyes to see a couple of brute men enter

"What?" she asked, a sudden chill running down her spine

But the men just advanced on her, causing her to back up to the wall

"Listen guys, I'm pretty there are other ways than we can handle this. No need to get physical, mates" she weakly chuckled "I'm su-"

but she suddenly yelped as one of them grabbed her blood stained hair from behind and pulled

"Owwww! You nasty son of a bitch! Stop manhandling me!"

and to her horror something sharp was pricked on her neck

"Owww! NO! Get it away f-" she stopped when she realized the man pulling out the empty injection.

"What was it?" Rose asked, her heart starting to beat faster by every second "what the bloody hell did you inject me with?!"

"something to keep you tamed, sweet cheeks" one of them chuckled

"Has anyone ever told you look like a pedophile?" Rose asked and suddenly she felt her ears ringing. her head got heavy and her legs uncomfortably jelly. Next thing she knew, she fell down on the ground and soon everything blackened

* * *

Entering the bar, Tony made his way to the lady Harley had so gracefully described at Mrs. Davis

"Mind if I join you?" he asked

she stopped mid-drink and eyed him

"Free country."

"Sure is." Tony inhaled and sat down

"All right." she began "Where would you like to start?"

Tony took a deep breath "I just want to say, I'm sorry about your loss. I want to know what you think happened."

Mrs. Davis eyed him and then slid a file towards him

"Look, I brought your damn file. You take it, go. Whatever was in here, he wanted no part of it."

Tony opened Chad Davis' file and went through it

"Clearly, you're waiting for someone else. Huh? Supposed to meet someone here?"

"Yeah."

Tony noticed something written on the corner of one of the pages-MIA, then closed the file and looked at her

"Mrs Davis, your son didn't kill himself. I guarantee you, he didn't kill anyone. Someone used him."

"What?"

"As a weapon."

"You're not the person that called me after all, are you?" Mrs. Davis whispered

Before Tony could reply, something was slammed on their table. Tony barely had the time to see the same woman he had bumped into earlier in front of the bar, before she twisted his arm and slammed his head on the table.

Tony barely had time to pocket Chad's dog tags, which had fallen from the file, before the woman cuffed both his hands and threw him over

"What's all this about?" a man asked, standing up "What the hell is going on here?"

"It's called an arrest." she replied "Sheriff, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is. And you are?"

"Homeland Security." she showed him her badge "We good here?"

"No, we're not "good."" the sheriff replied, humorlessly chuckling "I need a little more information than that."

"That's above your pay grade, Sheriff."

Tony looked at Mrs. Davis and gestured her. she nodded back, sliding the file under the pool table before anyone could see it

"Well, why don't you get on the horn to Nashville and, uh, upgrade me?"

"All right. You know what? I was hoping to do this the smart way,"

Tony's eyes widened when he noticed her hand around the badge suddenly started glowing a fiery orange

"but, uh, the fun way is always good."

"Deputy, get this woman out of..." before Sheriff could finish, the woman pressed the hot badge into the Sheriff's cheek, pulled his gun and shot him.

Chaos ensured in the bar as people started running and screaming. And amidst that, Tony finally got a chance to escape. Running out, he looked at her

"Hey, hot wings, you want to party? Come on, you and me, let's go."

he started running but stopped at the sight of another man, exiting his car, similar glowing orange lines flashin on his face

Tony barely had time to dive off behind a car before the man took off his gun and started shooting him

Tony sighed and looked around, spotting another man hidden behind the same car

"Crazy, huh?" he asked

"Yep."

"Watch this." with that, Tony headed for the nearest store and slammed his body on the glass, breaking it as he threw himself inside. He groaned and tried standing up and looked behind only to see that woman holding a shotgun in his direction

"Crap!"

* * *

The voices were faint. the visuals blurry.

Rose groaned as she tried to open her eyes, clear the mess. her headache had slightly lessened and it made her feel a little better. By the time her eyes completely opened, she looked around to realize she was now in some kind of warehouse.

Groaning again, she tried raising her hand only to find them tied. What? she looked down at herself and her eyes widened. Not only had they strapped her into some tilted stretcher and had bound both her arms and legs, they had also stripped her to the bare minimum of her bra and her boyshorts.

what the hell?

"Sleeping beauty is awake, I see"

Rose craned her neck to see Killian approaching her, followed by two of his men

"Had a good sleep"

"My yelp review is going to be one star" she replied

he just chuckled and slightly shook his head

"so what is all this shit, Killian? What were thinking about stripping me down like this?" she snapped

"I was thinking how someone so beautiful and perfect like you could be Tony Stark's offspring"

Rose blinked once "Look, usually I'd be down to this and it'd be my turn on, but you are not my type, not to mention my dad's age. So no"

Killian laughed, a creepy laugh

"You really are like him. But you see, i got you here for something else. To show you what EXTREMIS really is"

"I do not care. I will never fund it"

"That's, that's where you fall back. You Starks are really short sighted. You just don't want to see what nature is there to offer us, do you, Rose. I...can I call you Rose?"

"If i say no, will you stop?"

"Not really"

"Whatever" Rose scoffed

"You see Rose, humans are meant to evolve. and i'm just providing them a way to evolve into better and more powerful beings"

"By recoding the genetics?" Rose deadpanned

"Yes! by doing so we can create perfect humans. they'll have unmatched strength, unparalleled intelligence and perfection. Now what's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong is that you are talking about changing the general default coding of DNA. You have no idea the number of ways it can go wrong. You might end up creating a monster so much more powerful than the Hulk that even you might not be able to control it. What wrong is that you are talking about genocide and mass destruction." she took a deep breath "Tell me Killian, how many people died because of this obsession of yours?"

Killian shrugged "Collateral damage"

"Colla-for the love of god" she muttered, irritated "what the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

Killian just shook his head, but that creepy smile never left his face

"I'm just helping people to become what they want. To get over their illness, their imperfections"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. She vaguely remembered Pepper telling her that Killian used to limp and had a bad back.

"It is inside you, isn't it?" she asked

"And it changed my life!" Killian chuckled

"It has corrupted you. it's taking over your thinking, your common sense. Killian, don't do this."

"It's not corrupting me, Rose. it just gave me clarity, a broader horizon"

"You are a monster" Rose muttered, her face hard

Killian chuckled again and slightly shook his head

"so, Rose, let me ask again, what are you?"

Rose glared at him "Woman, Tony Stark's daughter, Billionaire, CEO of Stark Industries, Player, Philanthropist, Scientist, An Avenger. Take your pick"

Killian chuckled again "You just cannot answer a question with a simple answer, can you?"

"You can be stupidly persistent, can't you?" she snapped "Why the hell do you even care?"

Killian smiled at her "I just wanted to if i should expect any side effects when i put EXTREMIS inside you"

* * *

After blasting off the woman and taking care of the man with Harley's help, Tony walked to the man's car. he looked over his shoulder to see Harlye following him

"For what? Did I miss something?" Tony asked, opening the trunk to check it

"Me, saving your life." Harley replied

"Yeah. A, I saved you first. B, thanks. Sort of. And C, if you do someone a solid, don't be a yutz. All right? Just play it cool. Otherwise you come off grandiose. "

"Unlike you?" Harley asked, making Tony stop and look at him "Admit it, you need me. We're connected."

"What I need is for you to go home," Tony closed the trunk and face Harley "be with your mom, keep your trap shut, guard the suit, and stay connected to the telephone because if I call, you better pick up. Okay? Can you feel that? We're done here."

tony opened the door and got in "Move out of the way, or I'm gonna run you over. Bye, kid."

Seeing that Harley didn't move, Tony sighed

"I'm sorry, kid. You did good."

"So, now you're just gonna leave me here, like my dad?"

"Yeah." Tony sighed and then his head snapped realizing what Harley had said "Wait, you're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?"

It was same technique Rose had used on him or Pepper or Rhodey when she was a kid. And thankfully he was now immune to it

"I'm cold." Harley childishly said, snuggling deeper into his coat

"I can tell." Tony replied in a mocking child voice "You know how I can tell? Because we're connected."

with that, he started the car and drove off

* * *

On his way out of Tennessee he called Rhodey, who thankfully picked up

_"Hello?"_

"You ever have a chick straddling you and you look up and suddenly she's glowing from the inside out, kind of a bright orange?" Tony asked

_"Yeah, I've had that. Who is this?"_

"Now, last time I went missing, if I remember correctly, you came looking for me. What are you doing?"

_"A little knock-and-talk, making friends in Pakistan. What are you doing?"_

"Your redesign, your big rebrand, that was AIM, right?" Tony asked

_"Yeah."_

"I'm gonna find a heavy-duty comm sat right now, I need your login."

_"It's the same as it's always been, "WarMachine68.""_

"And password, please."

_"Well, look, I gotta change it every time you hack in, Tony."_

Tony rolled his eyes " It's not the '80s, nobody says "hack" any more. Give me your login."

He heard Rhodey sigh _""WAR MACHINE ROX" with an "X," all caps."_

Tony chuckled

he heard a whirring and then a small blast

Tony took a deep breath before asking

"any news on Rosie?"

_"She's not with you?"_

"No" Tony grunted

* * *

Rose hated it. it felt like her body was burning on the inside. it was burning on the inside. and it damn near felt like Cruciatus Curse.

They had attached a drip on her inner elbow which supplied EXTREMIS inside her. it had been 30 minutes since it had happened and Killian had left her there with just one other doctor-scientist, whosoever he was.

she could see faint orange-red glowing lines appear and disappear within her veins and occasional glow radiating off her body

what made it more uncomfortable was that she could feel her magic questioning the presence of a foreign substance in her body. Rose never thought she'd think like this, but she really hoped that her magic would accept the EXTREMIS and wouldn't reject it. She had no idea what would happen if her magic and body did reject EXTREMIS. That would a very sad-isfying way to die at adorable the age of 23

* * *

Tony found what he wanted in a TV van. he had broken in and started using the computer

"That ain't gonna cut it." he muttered

his concentration was broken when he heard someone say

"Excuse me, sir. I don't know who..."

Realizing he was caught, Tony looked at the man and shushed him. When he realized who had broken in, the man's eyes widened

"Mom, I need to call you back." he said into his phone "Something magical is happening."

he hung up and looked at him awe and surprise

"Tony Stark is in my van." he almost squealed

"Shh. Keep it down." Tony whispered

"Tony Stark is in my van!" he repeated

"No, he's not." Tony said

"I knew you were still alive!" he squealed

Tony sighed and lowered his voice

"Come on in. Close the door."

the cameraman followed and entering, closed the door behind him

"Oh, wow." he exclaimed breathlessly "Can I just say, sir..."

"Yep." Tony muttered

"I am your biggest fan." he said

Tony sighed and looked at the man

"Okay. First, is this your van? Is anyone else gonna come in?"

"No no, no. Just us."

"Great. What's your name?"

* * *

She felt sick. unbearably sick. her body temperature was rising. Sweat trickled off of her so much that even her hair had gotten wet.

suddenly she felt weird and the next thing she knew, she threw up. She let her head roll back in tiredness and pain

"what is this?" she heard the man/doctor/scientist muttered

rose tiredly opened her eyes and looked at her vomit and her eyes widened as much as she could with all the tiredness

She had heaved out glowy orange-y stuff which looked like molten lava and blood

* * *

"Gary" the man answered

"Gary" Tony nodded

"Oh, wow."

Tony got up and placed Gary at a little distance

"Right there is fine."

"Okay." Gary smiled

"Okay?" Tony chuckled "I get a lot of this, it's okay."

"Oh, good. Can I just say?"

"What do you want? Yeah." tony asked

Gary beamed "I don't know if you can tell, but I have, like, patterned my whole look after you."

Tony noticed "My hair's a little...i"

"It's fine."

"It's not right, 'cause there's no product in it."

"Right." Gary agreed

Tony took a deep breath and so did Gary

"I don't want to make things awkward" Gary started "for you, but I do have to show you...Boom!" he pulled up his sleeve which had a man's face tattoo "A Hispanic Scott Baio." Gary chuckled

Tony gaped at the tattoo "I'm sorry. Is that me?"

"Yeah. It's... I mean...I had them do it off a doll that I made, so it's not like it's off a picture. So it's a little bit...But you what? i liked you daughter too. and i wanted to have her on my arm as well but then i didn't want to appear like a stalker or somet-"

"Gary. Listen to me, okay?" Tony interrupted and rested his hands on Gary's shoulders "I don't want to clip your wings, here. We're both a little over-excited. I got an issue. I'm chasing bad guys. I'm trying to grab a little something from some hard-crypt data files. I don't have enough juice. I need you to jump on the roof..."

"Right?"

"Recalibrate the lSDNs. Pump it up by about 40%."

"Got it."

"All right? It's a mission."

"Yeah." Gary beamed

"Tony needs Gary. And Gary needs Tony. Be quiet about it. Go."

"Yeah."

* * *

Rose sighed. she couldn't handle it. The guy had stopped her EXTREMIS flow in after she had heaved the major amount of what they had put in her. Her throat was unbearably dry and her lips were chapped

"Why have you stopped?"

Killian had re-entered and was looking at the doctors around her vomit. what was even so curious about it?

"She just threw up all the amount of EXTREMIS we injected in her. Her body's not accepting it but at the same time she didn't blow up like others"

Blow up? the ones who didn't survive it they blew up?

Rose groaned as realization sunk in. the bombs weren't bombs. they were EXTREMIS guinea pigs gone wrong.

"A bomb is not a bomb when it's a misfire" she muttered

"what did you say, honey?" Killian asked, stepping closer to her

Rose took a staggering breath "Scr-screw you"

Killian blinked at her

"Well look at that. You are here, almost dead but still sassy" he chuckled, raising his hand and running it across her cheek "I so wish you were my age"

Rose grunted and snapped her face away

"What are you, Rosie"

"Don't call me that" she hissed

"Name reserved for daddy dearest?" Killian chuckled "Rose, just tell me what you are. You help me and i'll help you"

Rose looked at him with a glare

"I mean it. If you tell me what you are, you'll give me a chance to improve EXTREMIS and you'll get the honor to be the first recipient of such a powerful serum"

Rose took a deep breath and frowned

"Go to hell"

Before Killian could reply, his phone rang. he checked it and then beamed

"Guess what?" he looked up at her "I found something to motivate you. Rather someone"


	7. Chapter 7

Tony grunted. whatever he had expected, he found out worse. Killian made EXTREMIS, got handicapped people on it and knowing it wouldn't work out legally, then sold it to Mandarin. That was cheap. And a dreading feel in gut told him that it was just the tip of the iceberg.

He spared a glance at his phone when it connected

"Give me a full report." he asked

_"Yeah, I'm still eating that candy."_ Harley replied _"Do you want me to keep eating it?"_

"How much have you had?"

_"Two or three bowls."_

"Can you still see straight?"

_"Sort of."_

"That means you're fine. Give me Jarvis." Tony waited for a second "Jarvis, how are we?"

_"I seem to do quite well for a stretch, and then at the end of the sentence I say the wrong cranberry."_ JARVIS replied _"And, sir, you were right. Once I factored in available AIM downlink facilities I was able to pinpoint the Mandarin's broadcast signal."_

"What are we talking? Far East, Europe, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, Syria? Where is it?"

_"Actually, sir, it's in Miami."_

Tony sighed. Miami? Mandarin was hidden in Miami? That wasn't likely

"Okay, kid, I'm gonna have to walk you through rebooting Jarvis's speech drive, but not right now." Tony grunted once again "Harley, where is he really? Just look on the screen and tell me where it is."

_"Um, it does say Miami, Florida."_

Tony groaned. Miami, was it, then

"Okay, first things first, I need the armour. Where are we at with it?"

_"Uh, it's not charging."_

The tyres screeched as Tony forcefully applied the brakes, pulling at the side of the road. His breaths started becoming shorter and shallower

_"...but the power source is questionable. It may not succeed in revitalising the Mark 42."_

"What's questionable about electricity?" Tony asked, breath hitching "All right?"

Tony paused for a second, wheezing and slightly coughing "It's my suit, and I can't... I'm not gonna...I don't wanna...Oh, God, not again."

Tony quickly got out and collapsed outside, leaning on the car

He heard Harley gasp

_"Are you having another attack? I didn't even mention New York."_

"Right,"Tony wheezed "and then you just said it by name while denying having said it. Okay, um, uh..."

his breath started normalizing and reduced to panting only

"God, what am I gonna do?" he asked and leaning back, closed his eyes "Just breathe. Really, just breathe."

_"You're a mechanic, right?"_ Harley asked

"Right."

_"You said so."_

"Yes, I did."

_"Why don't you just build something?"_

"Okay. Thanks, kid."

* * *

Rose sighed. her mouth was as dry as Sahara desert. She could even feel the cracks on her lips. they still hadn't resumed her EXTREMIS intake that was because they were modifying it specifically for her. After Killian had left about an hour ago, they had taken her blood and had been figuring out why her body was not only rejecting the serum but at the same time, remained in one piece.

And seeing her dropping vitals, they had put her on glucose IV but she knew it was just temporary.

Rose knew somewhere that the magic in her blood was the reason the two were mixing like oil and water and she wasn't planning on telling that to them. and even if she did, it'd take them decades to finally crack the code of her magic and mix it with EXTREMIS. But she knew one thing, her blood in the hands of these morons could very dangerous.

opening of the big metal doors of the warehouse, made her look there.

"W-What?" she demanded seeing the person Killian was carrying in. It was Pepper. and unconscious Pepper.

Once Killian and his men placed her on a similar stretcher, stripped her off to her bra and leggings only, Killian looked at her with a huge smirk

"So, are you ready tell what you are now?"

* * *

Tony had did a lot of stupid things but this would definitely take the cake. If Rose didn't kill him first for it. Or Pepper, for that matter.

He had broke in to the location JARVIS and Harley had so gracefully provided him. After knocking down a bunch of guards and getting a comparatively easy entry, Tony was thankful for the lessons he got from Happy. He finally found the room that was shown on the TV as the mandarin base. There were props, a huge bed which was covered in a comforter over human-shapes.

Tony carefully approached the bed, gun aiming for anything and in a swift move he pulled off the comforter and jumped back when he saw two sleepwaer clad girls in bed.

Seeing him, the girls gasped and huddled together, only for Tony to shush them. then he heard the toilet flush. He quickly rushed to hide behind the headboard as the girls went back to bed as if nothing happened. A man, the Mandarin, came out chuckling to himself

"I wouldn't go in there for 20 minutes." he laughed "Now, which one of you is Vanessa?"

"That's me." one of the girls said

"Ah! Nessie." he chuckled and threw something at her which she caught "Did you know that fortune cookies aren't even Chinese?"

"There's some guy over here." the other girl muttered sleepyly but the Mandarin ignored her

"They're made by Americans, based on a Japanese recipe."

Tony rolled his eyes, came out, gun aiming at him

"Hey!" he yelled

"Bloody hell. Bloody hell." the man muttered, hands up in surrender

"Don't move." Tony ordered

"I'm not moving."

"You want something? Take it. Although the guns are all fake because those wankers wouldn't trust me with the real ones."

"What?"

"Hey, do you fancy either of the birds?"

Realization set in "You're not him." he grunted taking a step forward as he cocked his gun "The Mandarin, the real guy. Where? Where's the Mandarin? Where is he?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." the man muttered, falling on the recliner "He's here. He's here, but he's not here. He's here, but he's not here."

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated. Hey, it's complicated. It is."

"Uncomplicate it."

When he noticed that he wasn't going to speak, Tony looked over his shoulder "Ladies, out. Get out of the bed. Get into the bathroom."

Once the women left, Tony went and locked the door after them. He turned to face the guy back only to see him crawling away. Roling his eyes, Tony shot a few centimeters away from his face, which made the man crawl back onto the recliner and relaxed a bit

"My name is Trevor. Trevor Slattery."

"What are you, a decoy? You're a double, right?" Tony asked

"What, you mean like an understudy?" Trevor asked "No, absolutely not."

Tony grunted and raised his gun aiming for his face

"Don't hurt the face!" Trevor exclaimed "I'm an actor."

"You got a minute to live. Fill it with words."

"It's just a role. "The Mandarin," see, it's not real."

"Then how did you get here, Trevor?" Tony asked as Trevor slid behind and casually sat on the recliner

"Well, I, um, had a little problem with, um, substances. And I ended up doing things, no two ways about it, in the street, that a man shouldn't do."

"Next?"

"Then, they approached me about the role, and they knew about the drugs."

"What did they say? They'd get you off them?"

"They said they'd give me more. They gave me things. They gave me this palace." Trevor waved around "They gave me plastic surgery. They gave me things." and with that his head rolled back and he dozed off

"Did you just nod off? Hey." Tony kicked him as he jolted wake

"No, and a lovely speedboat." Trevor added then paused "And the thing was, he needed someone to take credit for some accidental explosions.. Boom!"

""He"?" Tony frowned "Killian?"

"Killian." Trevor confirmed

"He created you?"

"He created me."

"Custom-made terror threat."

"Yes. Yes. His think tank thinked it up." Trevor got up and walked to the table as Tony sat on the recliner "The pathology of a serial killer. The manipulation of Western iconography." he turned with two beer cans and spoke without his british accent "Ready for another lesson? Blah, blah, blah." he extended the can to Tony

"No."

"Of course," he said, back in his regular voice "it was my performance that brought the Mandarin to life."

"Your performance? Where people died?" Tony asked

"No, they didn't. Look around you. The costumes, green screen. Honestly, I wasn't on location for half this stuff. And when I was, it was movie magic, love."

Tony furrowed his brows and got up, gun aiming at Trevor

"I'm sorry, but my daughter is probably dead and I've I got a best friend who's in a coma and he might not wake up. So you're gonna have to answer for that. You're still going down, pal. You under..."

Tony stopped when he saw Trevor look behind him. With a swift motion, Tony turned around to catch sight of the bald guy from Tennessee. Tony tried to attack, but he punched him across the face, knocking him out

* * *

Rose hated it. She kept on looking at Pepper who wasn't showing any signs of waking up

"Okay, let's make a deal" Killian chuckled "You tell what you are and I'll let Pepper go. If you choose not to, I'll make one of my own"

Rose glared at Killian. she knew he was lying. and she also knew that no matter what she says, he will not let go of Pepper and will inject her with EXTREMIS. she could barely do a basic spell with the amount of magic in her, which had steadily decreased after she heaved all the EXTREMIS and blood.

The best she could do at the moment was to stall. Stall as long as possible and keep Pepper away from it

"I give you my word" Killian added

Lie. Terrible Lie

Rose grunted and took a deep breath "fine. You want to know what I'm? Well, I'm a witch"

Killian shot her a brief deadpanned look and then chuckled "You seriously think that this is right time for jokes?"

rose frowned "What's wrong with you? You wanted to know what I'm. and now I'm telling you"

"A witch?" Killian raised his brow "Aren't witches supposed to be old, wart-y, slightly green and incredibly ugly, not to mention fictional characters?"

"You mean like aliens and Norse gods?"

Killian fixed her another look "You are right" he nodded once "so, Rosie, tell me all there's to know about being a witch?"

Rose frowned "What do you want to know?"

"How did you make that shield thing-y and took a missile head on?"

"That's a protective barrier of pure energy"

"Amazing. and did you just, like think it up and it appeared?"

"Yes"

"so is it energy you can manipulate or is it magic?"

"Isn't that one and the same thing?" Rose asked

"If you say so" Killian nodded "and is this magic the one protecting you from going all kaboom!"

"Yes" she replied. No matter what, she was willing to give anything more than the vaguest answers and apparantly Killian was stupid enough not to ask her the right questions

"So, how did you get it? accident? experiment? alien radiation?"

"I was born with it" she replied "and for the love of god, can you get me something to drink? I can't talk with a dry mouth"

But Killian ignored her request

"Born with it" he repeated "so, Tony also has the same or was it from your mother? No no no" he chuckled "Tony can't have it. What he has is too big of a ego."

"My mother was the last person like me on Earth"

Killian nodded "So you are the last of your kind?"

Rose badly wanted to roll her eyes. She'd be damned if she told him about the Wizarding World. Not only would it attract some unwanted attention, the whole magical world would hunt her alive for outing them to a muggle. a deranged psychotic muggle at that.

"Yes. why? you expecting a while secret society or something?"

"More to experiment on" Killian shrugged

"You are sick" Rose frowned

Killian didn't respond

"sir" the doctor approached Killian

"Are they mixing?"

"No" the doctor replied "and the fascinating thing is sir, that not only her blood and the EXTREMIS not mixing, her blood is somehow, umm, neutralising the serum"

Killian looked at her with narrowed eyes while Rose gaped at the doctor

Her blood was doing what?

"It is the magic, isn't it?" Killian asked

When Rose didn't reply, still trying to get over her shock, Killian took out his gun and shot just next to Rose's head, which grabbed her attention. rose realizing what happened, frowned at Killian

"Are you crazy?" she demanded "you could have shot me, idiot. I could have died!"

"I asked a question" he frowned "Your magic is doing this, isn't it?"

"how would I know?" she asked "this is my first time of being a Guinea pig."

18 years since she realized she had magic. and it still didn't stop amazing her. She loved Magic!

"Is there a way to make her blood mix with the serum?" Killian asked

"We're working on that, sir. But her blood is very strong, very...dominating."

Killian paused as if thinking

"Can we make another serum with her blood as one of the core element?"

Rose's eyes widened. What?!

"No. No, you can't do that" Rose frowned

The doctor thought for a moment "that should be plausible. and with her blood as a core element, her body should accept it as well"

"then get to it" Killian quickly replied, checking his watch. he turned and started walking out "and get the red head on EXTREMIS"

"You promised!" Rose yelled

"I lied"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, i know this is a small chapter, but I've got a proper explanation. **

**Tomorrow morning I'm going out of town with family for a mini-vacation. so I'm a little busy with packing and stuff. Especially when my sister hid my kindle reader out of a grudge match. **

**Anyway, I won't posting any updates until 10th of July (that's when I'm returning). I thought of taking my laptop with me only for my mom to tell me that there would no wifi or any kind of internet connections whatsoever. **

**And thank you to every person who read, reviewed, favorited and followed my story. You have no idea what it personally means to me *sobbing and wiping tears of joy***

**well then, see you on 10th July or maybe 11th. **


	8. Chapter 8

Rose grunted against her bindings. her breath labored and unsteady. Tiredly she looked at Pepper, who had been flashing in and out of consciousness for a while now.

"Pepper" Rose called, causing the red head to grunt and groan tiredly

"Pep" Rose tried again but nothing

She glanced back at the doctor as he tried to remake the EXTREMIS with her blood. he had already thrown out three tries and everytime he ran out, he took huge her blood again. and she hated it more than anything

Rose again tried to break her bindings, but in vain

"Rosie?"

the voice was so soft that if it hadn't been so quiet in the warehouse they were kept in, Rose was sure she wouldn't have heard that. Her head quickly whipped to Pepper who was tiredly looking at her and managed to crack a small smile

"Pep" Rose breathed "It's going to be fine. I'm going to get us out of here. i swear"

Pepper grunted and groaned again and then slightly relaxed

"Ton-tony" she breathed out "He's al-alive"

* * *

Steve was not having a good day. not at all. it was only yesterday that he'd been told that Tony Stark and his daughter Rose were murdered in a terrorist attack by Mandarin. Once he had heard that, he hadn't left the SHIELD HQ.

Fury had finally managed to pull some strings and indulge SHIELD into Mandarin Case. Natasha was called off to get the field report. And Steve was actively pacing in Fury's office, with the said man sneaking amused glances at him while reading some documents.

He couldn't believe Rose was dead. Or Tony for that matter. That girl was a spitfire and yet someone had doused that flame. and Steve was pissed. Even if he and Rose had not been on very good terms when they went their ways, she was still a part of his Avengers team and Steve cared a hell lot about his team.

"You are going to wear the floor down, Rogers"

Steve stopped to frown at the man, who was still indulged in his documents.

their attention was grabbed by Natasha, who entered the room, clad in her usual black spandex.

"Romanoff" Fury addressed. She spared Steve a glance but then looked at Fury

"There have been sightings of Stark" she said. a tiny speck of hope flared inside Steve. Before he could ask anything, Natasha spoke up

"Tony has been spotted in Rose Hill, Tennessee. Yesterday night" she added "And in a hardware store about 100 miles from Rose Hill on I-22, which heads to Miami"

"Anything on Rose?" Steve heard himself ask

Natasha shook her head "There were no sightings of any pink haired girl in or around Rose Hill"

Steve had found out a while ago that SHIELD records had Rose's pink hair as one of her identifiers. Apparantly it was a signature look of the young CEO.

"And War Machine has been offline for a while" she added

"What's War Machine?" Steve frowned but got ignored

"What was it's last location?" Fury asked. the director of SHIELD knew that they weren't supposed to have any information on War Machine-or Iron patriot, now- per say, but when it's own creator's daughter comes to you with it's information and how to monitor it in case of dire circumstances, you can't and don't reject that

"Miami, Florida" Natasha replied "Along with Aldrich Killian's last location being the same"

Oh SHIELD knew all about Killian's mad experiments on the serum called EXTREMIS. They had been the one to reject him on the grounds of immoral biological experiments. Since Banner, SHIELD had kept a eye for anything remotely resembling Super-Soldier serum in any way possible.

"Prepare a SWAT Team." Fury ordered

"I don't think it's needed"

The two spies turned to face him in question

"What do you have in mind?" Natasha asked

"If Tony is alive, why would he go to Miami of all places? Unless there is something very important to him"

"You think there's something Tony Stark would risk his life for?" Fury raised is eye brow

"I know someone he would risk his life for" Steve replied. he turned, picked his shield and started walking out

"Rogers?"

he stopped and turned to face Fury

"Bring my Avengers back alive"

Steve nodded and started walking off, just as Natasha fell in step with him

"I owe Rose" was all she said

* * *

Tony when woke up, found himself tied to some metal rods in some warehouse. He grunted, trying to free himself when he finally noticed Maya standing at a distance

"Okay-" he sighed

"It's just like old times, huh?" Maya asked

"Oh, yeah. With zip ties. It's a ball." Tony scoffed

"It wasn't my idea." she replied

"Okay. So you took Killian's card."

"I took his money." Mara sternly replied

"And here you are 13 years later, in a dungeon."

"No."

"Yeah."

"No," Maya sternly said "you're in a dungeon. I'm free to go."

"Yeah?" Tony raised his brow.

Maya looked at him and then sighed, walking over to him "A lot has happened, Tony. But I'm close. EXTREMIS is practically stabilised."

Tony frowned at her

"I'm telling you it isn't. I'm on the street. People are going bang. They're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself."

"Then help me fix it."

When Tony shot her a confused look, she pulled out a very old card which read-You know who i'm. Definitely something Tony would do to leave when he had to leave early after a one night stand. she turned over the card, where there was some mathematical equation written. That, Tony didnot do after a one night stand

"Did I do that?" he asked and he could have sworn she looked heartbroken that he didn't recognize his own writing

"Yes."

"I remember the night, not the morning." he replied "Is this what you've been chasing around?"

"You don't remember?"

"I can't help you." Tony exclaimed "You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people. Now look at you. I get to wake up every morning with someone who still has their soul. Every morning i'm with someone who loves me just because she does." Tony took a deep staggering breath as Rose's image flashed in his head. Where was his baby?

he looked at her, almost pleading

"Get me out of here...Come on."

he saw her eyes getting wet as she turned around just as another voice spoke up

"You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favourite of many sayings... "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."" Killian entered the premises, holding a briefcase with him

"You're not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing, are you?" Tony asked, looking at Killian in front of him

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me." Killian paused "Desperation. If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? Well, for the first 20 minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour... I considered taking that one-step shortcut to the lobby. If you know what I mean."

Tony frowned "Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the first mouse."

"But as I looked out over that city, nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since. Right?" Killian glanced at Maya who shot him a nervous smile

"You simply rule from behind the scenes." Killain continued walking to the table and opening the briefcase "Because the second you give evil a face, a bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin, you hand the people a target."

"You're something else." Tony deadpanned

"You have met him, I assume?"

"Yes." Tony replied "Sir Laurence Oblivier."

"I know he's a little...over the top sometimes. It's not entirely my fault. He has a tenden...He's a stage actor. They say his Lear was the toast of Croydon, wherever that is." Killian shrugged "Anyway, the point is, ever since that big dude with the hammer fell out of the sky, subtlety has kind of had its day."

"What's next for you in your world?" Tony asked

"Well, I wanted to repay you the selfsame gift that you so graciously imparted to me." Killian smiled and pulled out three metallic orbs, tossing them on the floor

"Desperation." Killian smiled as the orbs hummed and a hologram of Pepper stapped to something appeared. she was in pain, he could see and there was a faint orange-y glow in her body

"Now, this is live." Killian said "I'm not sure if you can tell, but at this moment the body is trying to decide whether to accept EXTREMIS or just give up. And if it gives up, I have to say, the detonation is quite spectacular. But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain."

Tony looked at Pepper. he was feeling so guilty of dragging her into this. He had lost Rose, he wasn't going to lose Pepper

"Now," Killian added "I'm not sure it is enough to make you desperate, so i have something else for you" he clicked on something and pepper image was replaced with Rose's.

Tony's eyes widened to inhuman measure. His daughter was strapped onto something similar. But the glow of the EXTEMIS was missing. But that didn't help. she was looking deathly pale and weak, her once bright pink hair wet and she was half naked.

"She's interesting thing, little Rose" Killian chuckled "And a challenge. i tried injecting her with EXTREMIS and you know what, not only did hr ody reject it, she's in perfect condition"

Tony almost pounced on the man. How dare he touch his daughter?

"And she really is very special, isn't she? Magic, that's her secret, right?"

Tony's eyes widened. No way would Rose ever tell anyone that. Even SHIELD had incomplete information on her capabilities.

"Oh yes, she told me everything. Unlike you, Rosie is very cooperative"

"Don't call her that" Tony growled

"She said the same to me" Killian nodded "anyway, Rose has opened the doors for a lot of research for AIM. and unlike you, she's helping us make the perfect serum"

Tony didn't believe it. Rose would never help someone like Killian. No way. But then he realized that pepper was their captive too. and if anything, Rose loved Pepper a lot and would do anything for her.

Oh the ways he will kill Killian. First there'd be torture, lots of it and then he'd kill him. all of 'em.

he clicked the button again and the humming ceased and the hologram faded

"We haven't even talked salary yet. What kind of perk package are you thinking of?" Killian asked, pocketing the controller

"Hold on, hold on."

the two men turned to look at Maya who was pointing something at her neck

"Let him go" she said

"Maya..." Killian sighed

"I said, let him go."

"What are you doing?"

"1200 CCs." Maya gulped "A dose half of this size, I'm dead."

Killian sighed and looked at Tony

"It's times like this my temper is tested somewhat." and then he turned to Maya "Maya, give me the injector."

"If I die, Killian, what happens to your soldiers? What happens to your product?"

"We're not doing this, okay?" Killian tried

"What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot?"

Killian took a deep breath and next thing Tony knew, he shot her. Maya fell on the ground, her bullet wound bleeding uncontrollably.

Killian sighed again and turned to Tony

"A high-level position has just been vacated."

Tony glared at Killian

"You are a maniac."

"No, I'm a visionary." Killian replied "But I do own a maniac. And he takes the stage tonight." and with that he left

* * *

Tony was alive. Tony Stark was alive. Her father was alive.

Rose had not felt any more hopeful or happy ever since she was captured.

Pepper had since then unable to speak as her grunts had only increased. now her whole body was occassionaly glowing orange on short intervals and Rose remotely knew what it meant.

"Pep" she whispered,

A click brought her attention to the doctor and she saw him adjusting a Camera on a tripod which focused on her

"Okay" the man nodded "Subject- 23 years old, female and enhanced. Can manipulate energy according to her will in a protective fashion. Survived EXTREMIS phase 1 without exploding even after discharging the whole amount of the serum that was injected.

EXTREMIS 2.0 serum is a modified form of the basic formula tailored specifically for this subject with her own blood as a core component. Now to see if her body accepts this serum"

he walked to her.

"No!" she yelled as strongly as she could struggling and squirming "Don't you dare. Stay away from me you motherfu-"

and in that moment the doctor injected the serum into her. Rose almost cried and screamed out from all the pain. Unlike before, this was different. It was equally painful if not more, but then she felt her magic. and it accepted the serum. her magic accepted the EXTREMIS 2.0.

"It worked" she heard the man muttered in glee

Oh she was doomed

* * *

**So, i'm back, just like i promised. **

**and i just checked all the mails i got for following, favoriting and reviews and i'm surprised at the response I'm getting for this and M3. so thank you very much to each and every person out there who read this, or any of my stories. **

**I'd be updating Legacy next. **

**oh and one more thing. I had been having ideas of this fic which is a Capt. America centric. And i was thinking of doing a collab for different POVs. Main characters being a fem OC and Steve R. So if anyone out there is interested in doing a collab with me, please PM me.**

**that's all, I guess. **

**Thanks and R&R(^_^)**


	9. Chapter 9

Tony briefly wondered if he could just get out of the zip ties somehow. Then he'd be free. and he could find his girlfriend and daughter. Suddenly, his watch began beeping then, sitting on the counter, and he nearly grinned. One of the guards picked it up and he shot him a warning look.

"Careful, there. It's a limited edition," he told him firmly. The man began to shake it. "Hey, uh, Ponytail Express. What's the mileage count between Tennessee and Miami?"

"832 miles," he answered Tony quickly and he shot him an impressed look.

"Very nice," Tony muttered

"I'm good like that," the man said, taking the compliment, and as the beeping continued, he pointed to the watch with his gun. "Can you, uh, stop that?"

"Break it, you bought it," Tony warned them. The man met his eyes, dropped the watch, and stomped on it.

Oh they were going down.

"I think I bought it," he gave Tony a smug look.

"Okay, that wasn't mine to give away," Tony said, unimpressed. "That belongs to my friend's sister. And that's why I'm gonna kill you first."

"What are you gonna do to me?" he taunted him.

"You'll see,"

"You're zip-tied to a bed,"

"This," Tony said raising his arms. And when nothing happened, "That."

Ugh how much Tony hated delayed responses. He'd definitely have Rose look into it once he gets he out.

"Trust me, you're gonna be in a puddle of blood on the ground in five, four, three; come on! Two," Tony tried again, but nothing.

Where was his suit? Why was this taking so long.

"How did we get this shift?" the shorthaired man looked done with him. Well, Tony was just as done with him too.

"All right," Tony warned them. "I'm gonna give you a chance to escape. Put down your weapons. Tie yourselves to those chairs. I'll let you live. In five, four, bang!"

The two of them looked at him utterly unimpressed and he sighed internally.

It was hard to be intimidating when things weren't working.

"You should be gone by now. You should've already been gone," Tony said seriously.

"I am just beyond terrified," the long-haired man said, still pointing the gun at him.

"Here it comes. Three, four," Tony started again.

"Shut up,"

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

But this time, as something broke the glass then.

Tony shot them a smirk, as his hand piece hit the man in the head and attached itself to his wrist, "Told you."

He shot the shorter haired man with the repulsor, as the bed frame he was on span around. He used the armor to break herself out of the zip ties, as the man with the gun game for him again. Tony hit him on the head with the part of the armor he had on, as the foot piece came in then, and attached itself to his body.

Tony raised the gun in their direction as he looked upwards at the sound of clamoring footsteps

* * *

Rose felt weird. Not like before. But still weird.

Her body accepting EXTREMIS 2.0 was freaking her out. she had no symptoms like before where she heaved out the entire thing. No, she felt like someone had put a a gallon of Red Bull in her veins. A magically and genetically modified Red Bull. She felt powerful, way more powerful. Like she had taken the revitalizing potion in excess.

"It's working" she heard the mean whisper in glee.

She completely ignored him and looked at Pepper, whose body was slightly less glowing right now.

"Hey Window Face" she looked at the doctor, who consciously adjusted his glasses "What's going on with her?"

Rose really tried to not let worry cloud her voice. She had to be strong and these people might have just helped her more than damage her.

"it looks like her body has accepted the EXTREMIS" the doctor informed her

Rose did a take. her body wasn't sweating. And she didn't feel tired. She looked forward and noticed some paperwork on the table. So while the doctor's focus was somewhere else, she tried to magically sense what was written. It was the EXTREMIS formula. Extremely useful. she tried to magically teleport it to a safe location- a small version of apparation on a second party, and it worked. Her magic was upto limit. Maybe even exceeded limit.

Next she tried to magically unbind herself.

"Relashio" she harshly whispered and could feel the bindings unwrapping themselves. She almost smiled to herself.

And the next moment she knew, the bindings snapped open and she was thrown from the stretcher. She landed with a thud and looked up, seeing the scared look of the doctor. Oh he was in so much trouble right now. She quickly got up, ignoring the soreness and knots of her body.

With trembling steps, the man was receding

"Please. Don't...don't hu-hurt me. I'm sorry. I j-just did what-" he yelped as he pushed something "what Killian asked me too. Please. I'm sorry"

Despite his begs, Rose was deaf to them. She was angry. Scratch that. she was downright livid. How dare they attack her home? Kidnap the women she had closest to a mother and experiment on her? Almost kill the man who meant world to her?

Rose snarled to herself as she felt the magic building. Her fingers tingled with raw power. Next thing she knew, she extended her hand at him. the man stopped whimpering and then everything went silent, except Pepper's own painful whimpers.

Rose noticed her hand glowing and quickly retracted them, staring at them in surprise. It wasn't the first time her hands glowed. They did a lot of time when she did wandless magic but usually they glowed green or in some cases blue or white. But right now they were reddish orange. Rose slowly raised her head and looked where the doctor earlier was. in his place was now a small lizard, which quickly scurried off at the sight of someone bigger than it.

Rose glanced back at her hands. How had she done that? Usual transfiguration spells like that, required a lot of power but she just pulled it off without a sweat.

Another whimper broke her thoughts reverie. She looked back at Pepper

"Pep" she whispered and rushed to her, tugging the binds loose.

She had unbound her one hand, when the warehouse's doors were slammed open and men with assault rifles entered

"Shit!" she muttered as all the guns were pointed at her "Shit! SHIT!"

She quickly conjured a protective shield as the shootings began. She slightly winced but overall she was surprised at the strength of the barrier. they had always been strong and impenetrable, but this was one solid barrier, not to mention in orange and not it's usual white.

Once the shootings lessened, Rose threw an offensive spell that had them all down on their butts. with a mere gesture, she destroyed all the rifles and turned her attention to her groaning best friend

"Just a minute and I'll have you out" she whispered, quickly undoing the the bindings. she could have used magic, but her EXTREMIS 2.0 enhanced magic and Pepper's EXTREMIS didn't sound a good mix

And there was another clamor of footsteps. and every single door that the warehouse had were slammed open, men in bulletproof vests holding larger machine guns entered

Rose did a sweep. Had to be around 200. How the hell did Killian get so many men?

"Surrender, now!" a voice boomed

Rose flexed her neck as she felt her fingers tingle

"I'll be damned" she muttered, throwing the first offensive spell she knew at the nearest group

* * *

"What is our ETA?" Steve asked, as he walked closer to Natasha

"10 minutes" the red headed replied

Steve went back to his seat and looked over the information SHIELD had on Killain, again. it still disgusted him the lengths people had gone to to recreate the serum. Banner had the worst side-effect anyone could ask for.

And this Killian was no good. He was already on SHIELD's wanted list when his secret human experimentation was revealed to them, but his priority was pushed down as Mandarin emerged.

Personally, Steve was emotionally rounding himself to see Tony and tell him that Rose didn't make it. that she was dead. the closest he had to family was Bucky, who had died falling from the train. Now he felt terrible having to tell a father that his daughter was dead. Even if the said father was a egoistic, self centered, narcissistic and way over in his head. But Steve had seen the two of them together and he never doubted that Tony loved Rose to bits and pieces.

Steve grunted and kept the tablet back. he went back to his tactic. Find Mandarin, capture him or kill him- the latter sounded better- find Tony and free any other captives, if there were any.

* * *

Tony was jumping on his toes. pieces of his suit were yet to come

"Where's the rest?" he muttered uneasily, as he could see more men coming into the room. He shot them with a both of his armour and the gun, before using the one thrustor he had, to shoot herself up in the air. Tony tried to take out as many men as he could before he had ran out of ammo.

Tony swore as he realized he was still outnumbered, and without the rest of the suit, he was still very vulnerable to their bullets. Grunting, he maneuvered around the room with the parts of the suit he did have with ease, dodging their shots.

Until there was just one man left.

Tony pointed her gun at him with quite a smug

"Honestly, I hate working here. They are so weird," The man whimpered. Tony sighed and dropped the gun and backed out of the room. He wasn't worth it.

Tony ran through the halls, trying to leave the dungeon, as the rest of the suit slowly came and attached itself to him.

"Ah! Better late than never," Tony almost cried of happiness, as he waited just for the faceplate to arrive. the thing hovered for a few minutes "Not this time. Not the face."

He held his hand out, catching the mask as he carefully put it on.

"Phew! It's good to be back. Hi, buddy," Tony smile

"Hello, Sir," JARVIS said, "I am glad to see you are still doing well."

A Helicopter flew above, and he looked up and saw the War Machine flying above. Why was Rhodey here? Curios, Tony cleared his throat

"Let's go!" he said, trying to power up the thrustors only for them not to work.

"Great" he muttered and ran towards the stairs, calling Rhodey along the way

"_Tony_," Rhodey said, picking up instantly.

"Tell me that's you in the suit," Tony said

"_No_," Rhodey confirmed, and she swore, "_You got yours?_"

"Uh," Tony said, "Kind of. Main house, as fast as you can. There's somebody I'd like you to meet."

* * *

Rose was amazed. Whatever the doctor had done, it was great. or very stupid. she had been using magic nonstop for about 15 miutes and she wasn't even panting.

she had taken out most of the small army that had entered when something pricked her shoulder blade. Slightly wincing, she reached and pulled it out, which was a small injection. And suddenly she felt dizzy

"You are too good, doll"

Rose turned in a swift motion and saw a man. he felt familiar. Bald and an evil look, yeah he was Killian's for sure.

her head started throbbing

"Like it? Xylazine. it's a pretty heavy hitter"

Horse tranq? Really?

Rose tried to attack him but gasped as her legs started turning into jelly. They must have given her quite a heavy dose since it was acting so fast.

"You are different" the man came face to face with her, even crouched as she fell down, gasping and panting "You are stronger. not to mention quite powerful"

"You sonofabi-"

"Now now now" the man chuckled "Can't have the pretty CEO swearing, can we?" he snorted

Rose grunted, trying to punch him, but he just leaned back with a laugh "Don't try princess. the thing's got a heavy dose"

the man then got up and headed to where Pepper was

He put her bindings back, dislodged the stretcher which magically sprouted wheels and started wheeling her away

"Pep" she breathed out hard

"Don't worry, i'll send in someone for you. As far as your friend here is concerned, she's going to a better place"

Rose tried to stand, but all of a sudden, everything blacked out. last thing she remembered was hitting the cold hard floor

* * *

**Well, my first year at college start tomorrow, so busy with preps. huh.**

**I'm still looking for someone to do a collab with me about the story. Info can be found on the previous chapter. So I won't exactly be able to keep up with the updates. Still, thanks to all**

**R&R (^_^)**


	10. Chapter 10

The quinjet landed at a secured location and at once Captain America and Black Widow stepped out

Steve looked at Natasha, who had a small scanner in her hands

"To where?"

"War Machine suit is now airborne. but I can trace it's last location" Natasha said zooming in on the map "Looks like some kind of ship on a dockyard about...6 miles from here"

"Doable" Steve nodded

"Alright" Natasha nodded

* * *

Tony walked into the room, holding up a ping pong battle as the two men aimed guns at him. Only for Rhodey to burst through the window and take them out. And he was not wearing any kind of armor.

How did he manage to always look so much cooler doing everything, while he gets a lecture from Rose and Pepper?

"What have you come as?" Slattery asked Rhodey, looking interested.

"You make a move, and I break your face," Rhodey pointed a gun at him.

"I never thought people had been hurt. They lied to me," Slattery said, looking pitiful.

"This is the Mandarin?" Rhodey said with the same exasperation he'd had earlier. A 'Are you kidding me?' expression.

"Yeah, I know, it's embarrassing," Tony scoffed, just as annoyed as Rhodey was.

"Hi, Trevor. Trevor Slattery," Trevor introduced himself, sticking his hand out for a shake, but Rhodey slapped it away. "I know I'm shorter in person. A bit smaller. Everyone says that. But, um, hey, if you're here to arrest me, there's some people I'd like to roll on."

"Here's how it works, Meryl Streep," Tony interrupted said firmly, "You tell him where Pepper and Rose are, and he'll stop doing it."

He totally ignored the shocked look Rhodey shot him.

"Doing what?" Trevor asked, confused.

Rhodey leaned down and burned him with a weapon he'd concealed

"Ow," Trevor yelped, "That hurt. I get it! I get it! I don't know about any Pepper or Rose, but I know about the plan."

"Spill," Tony barked.

"Do you know what they did to my suit?" Rhodey asked.

"What? No," Slattery brushed him off. "But I do know it's happening off the coast. Something to do with a big boat. I can take you there."

He hollered, as a goal in the the football match on the tv behind them had been shot in. "Ole', ole', ole', ole'"

"Tony, I swear to God, I'm gonna blow his face off," Rhodey warned her.

"Oh, and this next bit may include the vice president as well. Is that important?" Trevor added

"Somewhat," Tony gruntled. If this went on, he probably would be the one to shoot the man.

"Yeah, a little bit," Rhodey said sarcastically.

"So?" Tony said, turning to Rhodey.

"What are we going do? I mean, we don't have any transport," he reminded Tony.

"Hey, Ringo." Tony suddenly looked at Trevor "Didn't you say something about a 'lovely speedboat'?"

* * *

By the time Rose came to, she found herself chained to a wall with thick shackles like some kind of medieval prison. She let out a sigh and tried shaking away to see the extent of the shackles

they looked breakable, alright. So she did it. but every one of her spells bounced off.

"what the bloody hell?" she muttered, looking at her shackles "Bombarda"

she could feel her magic working but it didn't react with the metal. What was going on?

She was using magic. it came in contact with the metal but it didn't react.

Rose's tired eyes widened. So far only two metals could absorb magic and be like this. She was sure the first one was yet to make an appearance in the muggle world but the other, it could be found if the person knew where to look

"Son of a bitch!"

* * *

"If he's right about the location, we're twenty minutes from where Pepper and Rose are," Tony said determinedly as the boat sailed on through the waters.

"This Killian guy has Rose?" Rhodey asked, worry lacing his voice. Tony pressed his lips into a thin line. Rhodey had as much of credit as he had in raising Rose, even if he spent good amount of time overseas. and his little girl had let them known countless times that Rhodey was her most favorite uncle of all

"Yeah" Tony sighed "Killian showed me. they have both the girls on EXTREMIS and..." he sighed again "Rose was not looking good. Pepper wasn't either but Rose looked worse than her." there was a pause "I don't know what i'll do if something happened to her, Rhodey. I can't lose Rose again"

"She's a force to be reckoned with, Tony" Rhodey squeezed his shoulder "She's a war veteran. She can handle herself against some terrorists"

Tony tiredly nodded but said nothing

"But we also have to figure out this Vice President thing, right?" Rhodey confirmed with Tony, looking slightly torn.

And Tony didn't blame him. On one side was one of the most important men in America. And the other was his only family. Their family

how were they to save one and sacrifice the other

"I'll get on calling him," Tony said, as he began to dial him on the phone.

"_Hello_?" the vice president answered, almost immediately.

"Sir, this is Tony Stark," he said, as Rhodey stood beside him, a comforting presence.

"_Welcome back to the land of the living,_" the man said, sounding unsurprised. For all he had known, Tony was dead, yet clearly to the Vice President, it didn't make too big of a difference. Well, nice to know people cared about him. and he didn't even bother asking about Rose. she was the one who was dealing with the army on defensive weapons.

Once this was over, he was really going to have Rose revisit all the clauses of the agreement

"We believe you're about to be drawn into the Mandarin campaign. We have to get you somewhere safe as soon as possible," Tony told him quickly,

"_Mr Stark, I'm about to eat honey-roast ham, surrounded by the Agency's finest. The president's safe on Air Force One with Colonel Rhodes. I think we're good, here,"_ he said, brushing off him attempts.

He hated men like him sometimes. And Rose and Pepper, both, were excellent in dealing with men like him.

But then it struck. Did he just say the President was on Air Force one with Rhodey?

Tony looked over at his friend, as he realized suddenly where the Iron Patriot Armour had taken off to suddenly.

"Sir, this is Colonel Rhodes," Rhodey took the phone from him, having heard the last part. "They're using the Iron Patriot as a Trojan horse. They're gonna take out the President somehow. We have to immediately alert that plane."

"_Okay, I'm on it,_" his voice grew somber. "_I'll have security lock it down. If need be, they can have F-22s in the air in 30 seconds. Thank you, Colonel._"

"Rhodes and Stark out," Rhodey said, ending the call.

"We gotta make a decision. We can either save the President, or Pepper and Rose. We can't do both," Rhodey said and Tony felt his heart drop.

How could they choose? How could they choose between the President and their family? The women who had been by Tony's side for every up and for nearly as log as he remembered? Through the many times he'd nearly died, all the scandals the media had exaggerated? Through everything?

"Sir," JARVIS cut through the tension "I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived, and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak,"

"And what about the suit I'm wearing?" Tony asked, looking down at the damaged suit on his body.

"The armour is now at 92%,"

"That's going to have to do," Tony muttered. "Rhodey, I know what we need to do. And I don't like it one bit."

Before either of them could say anything, JARVIS interupted

"Sir, you are having an incoming call from Agent Romanoff"

Tony frowned and looked at Rhodey who shrugged

"Put it through" he said

"_Stark_?"

"Is that relief i hear in your voice, Romanoff?" Tony couldn't help it, he really could't. Even Rhodey's lips gave out a small twitch

"_Oh screw you"_ she snapped "_Where are you?_"

"Why?"

"_Because we are coming to help_"

"We?" Rhodey asked

"_Me and Steve_" she replied "_Now your location?_"

"We are heading to a ship at the dockyard on a speedboat"

"_We'll be at the location by the time should you reach most probably_"

"That's good" Tony nodded "Wait. there's more. the War Machine has been compromised"

Rhodey literally facepalmed. what wrong did he say?

"_What_?" Romanoff asked

"What Tony means is they have stolen my suit"

"_Do either of have any idea where it is heading?_"

"Air force one" Tony replied

* * *

Rose had mentally counted. She had been in that little prison for nearly two hours now. And it sucked.

First they gave her an extra boost and then they locked her up. What in seven hells was wrong with them?

She grunted, trying to use her magic when she heard footsteps.

And then Killian strode ahead of her

"Finally!" she sighed loudly "Would it hurt you all to give me some human company?"

"Still making demands" Killian chuckled "Well, i heard about your...show of power. Savin was greatly impressed"

"Savin?" Rose raised her brow "That chrome dome asshole?" Rose snorted "Well his opinion does not matter to me"

"Does mine?"

Rose gave him of serious thought, then shrugged "Nope. not at all" she then looked him dead in the boy "So what's with this medieval prison setting?"

"Nothing much. But do tell me why didn't you try to get out these bindings yet?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him "I did, jackass. But you already knew about it, didn't you" Rose relaxed "Who got you this? By the way, I know just want to confirm"

"What? Vibranium?" Killian stepped closer "Some good samaritan named Ulysses Klaue"

"Knew it! That motherfuc-"

"He did say it was useful against special people" Killian grinned

Oh how much Rose wanted to swipe that grin off his stupid face

"By the way, care to tell me about your disappearance act?"

"Oh nothing much" Killian shrugged, hands in his pant pockets "I just went to get a special delivery"

"Special delivery?" Rose asked

"Yeah. the show'll start soon. Don't worry. i'll get you the front row VIP seat like you are used to" Killian flashed another smile

"Where's Pepper?"

"Someplace safe. Don't worry"

" 'Don't worry?' That's really assuring coming from a terrorist" Rose scoffed

"See you in a while, Rosie" with that he walked away

* * *

Tony had JARVIS track down War Machine's exact location which led the two straight to them. With practiced ease, Rhodey led the to of them into the boat. Rhodey glanced at his best friend and nodded as the two of them readied their guns to shoot

Only for someone to tap on Tony's shoulder. With fast reflexes, he turned around, aiming the gun ready to shoot. and he would have if he hadn't seen the person

"Really Stark? a gun doesn't suit you" Natasha said dryly rolling her eyes

"Good to know that you are happy to see me alive" Tony bit back noticing Captain America behind her, all suited up with his shield on his back

"Stark" He gave a curt nod

"Captain" Tony responded

"What do you have?" Natasha asked

"We've got Killian up there somewhere. and a bunch of genetically modified soldiers. that's all" Tony shrugged

"Any hostages?" Steve asked

"Two" Rhodey came forward "As of now"

"They've got Pepper and Rose" Tony added

* * *

Steve's eye's widened and he tried not to show his expression of relief. he really wanted to squeal of joy knowing that Rose was alive.

"Rose is alive?" Natasha asked

"Yeah. She is their lab rat with Pepper" Tony grunted, clearly in anger

"What do you mean?" Steve frowned

Tony sighed

"Killian's been experimenting on her. That's all I know."

And there went all his happiness down the drain. And now fear was gripping him on the inside. Experiment? what kind? Steve wanted so many answers but first he needed to get her out

"for how long?" Natasha asked

"Since the house went down" Tony replied

"If you all are done with the chit chat, we've got my friend and god-daughter to rescue" the man accompanying Tony butted in and looked at the three of them

"I'm sorry, but have we met?" Steve asked

"Colonel James Rhodes" the man introduced himself "A friend of Tony and Rose's godfather. Don't bother, i know who you are"

Steve nodded

the four started moving as unnoticed as they could. Only to stop at the sight of something-someone-hanging in the air over a large container

"Oh, my God," Steve breathed out.

"That's what they are going to use Rhodey's suit for?" Tony almost scoffed

"He's strung up over the oil tanker. They're gonna light him up, man," Rhodey said, sounding worried.

"Viking funeral," Natasha grimly muttered "Public execution,"

"Yeah, death by oil," Rhodey confirmed.

"We need to move fast," Tony told them all. "Get him down before the broadcast starts."

"You don't have a suit, Tony," Rhodey said "Plus you're hurt."

"I know how to fight," Tony almost snapped "And right now, we need all the help we can get if we're going to bring this guy down."

"Stay in the shadows," Natasha warned. "We can't be seen."

Tony nodded, as they made their way through the shipping yard, carefully climbing on top of a ladder to get closer to the President.

"Broadcast will commence shortly. Take final positions," the four heard a voice say on the PA system.

"Is your gun up?" Rhodey asked Tony as through the levels.

Tony shot him a look and quickly raised his gun, "Yep. What do I do?"

"Stay on my six, cover high and don't shoot me in the back," Rhodey ordered for which Tony nodded

"Mmhm,Six, high, back. All right."

The shot came out of nowhere as the four crouched to the ground. Tony grunted and slightly standing up to shoot in response but crouched back as quickly as the shots came down like rain

"Son of a bitch!" Tony grunted

Steve desperately wanted to scold him for using inappropriate language around a woman but refrained

When the shots ended, Tony got up and shot back which effectively missed the target

"You see that? Nailed it," Tony said, sounding proud of herself.

"Yeah, you really killed the glass," Natasha deadpanned.

Rhodey suddenly coughed, for which Tony shot him a glare

"You think I was aiming for the bulb?" Tony looked at the assassin asked, who was giving him a look, "Besides, it's not like you can hit a bulb at this distance."

Natasha gave him a look, before standing up from her position and shot a bulb dead on.

"Fine, I guess you can," Tony dryly said, which earned him a smirk

"Guys" Steve interrupted, looking forward "They found us"

It was soon followed by

"All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12. I repeat, hostiles on east unit 12," a voice cried over the PA.

"Well I guess our cover is blown," Rhodey rolled his eyes at the antics of his fellows and cocked his gun.

"Stay here" Natasha said as she walked away, crouched.

there were some grunts and followed by some thuds

"We are clear" Nat called.

the three men stood up from the hiding to see four men on the cold hard floor knocked out

"Wow. It's great. amazing" Rhodey looked at her in awe, earning a jab from Tony

"We've got company" Steve said, looking behind Rhodey and Tony as he pulled down his shield. the other three turned around to see three guys, one girl, all armed, heading towards them

"God, I would kill for some armour right now," Rhodey muttered, frustrated. he raised his gun and started shooting, Nat and Tony following his suit before they found another container to hide behind

"We need backup," Tony said, wincing at the shots fired

"We are your backup" Nat deadpanned

"You guys are not cutting it" Rhodey replied "Yeah, we need a bunch,"

"You know what?" Tony said, looking up at the sky

the three followed his gaze and heard a faint buzz as noticed a couple of spots heading for them, which soon increased

"Is that?" Rhodey asked as the bright lights got closer and it became clear what they were.

"Yep," Tony proudly replied

"Are those?" Nat asked almost in awe. But being who was she was gave her the ability to school her featured. Tony really expected more from her

"Yeah," Tony almost beamed, as all the suits stood in front of them in the sky, ready for action. "Merry Christmas."


	11. Chapter 11

Tony's smirk widened as everyone in the vicinity seemed surprised at his Iron Legion

"JARVIS," Toy began "Target EXTREMIS heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice."

"Yes, sir." came the reply from the AI but the suits hesitated

"What are you waiting for?" Tony barked "It's Christmas. Take them to church."

* * *

Rose groaned. her body was heating up. she was sweating again and her breath got labored. She grunted, closing her eyes as she tried to blast the bloody vibranium shackles off of her only for the stupid metal to absorb her magic yet again.

And for a fraction of a second, Rose regretted turning the doctor into a lizard. he might have helped stabilize her because she was damn sure that even after hours of so called hardwork, the EXTREMIS 2.0 was not stable!

a sharp pain came from her lower body. groaning and gritting, she looked down to see the familiar EXTREMIS glow in her veins. and then it took her a couple of minutes to realize. she was going unstable

* * *

Tony jumped over a catwalk as others followed him. an attack by some EXTREMIS soldier caused their platform to tremble and go out of control, causing the four their to hold on the railings

"JARVIS," Tony called into his ear piece "get Igor to steady this thing."

Soon one of his suits held on the catwalk for the four to walk over

"This is how you've been managing your down time, huh?" Rhodey asked, almost smirking

"Everybody needs a hobby." Tony replied

"Most people take on gardening" Natasha grunted, shooting some of the armed men

Tony frowned at her, when he noticed one of his suits struggling with the the soldiers over Nat's shoulder

"Heartbreaker, help Red Snapper out, will you?"

he looked back up to meet the incredulous looks from both Captain and Natasha

"What?"

Steve shook his head slightly before taking on a EXTREMIS soldier headed for them and jumping to the lower catwalk

Tony looked around and found a suit stopping near him, opening in so Tony jumped inn

"Oh, yeah. That's awesome." Rhodey was smirking at the performance of his suits. Then he looked at Tony as the suit started wrapping itself around "Give me a suit, okay?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tony replied, not really sounding apologetic "they're only coded to me."

"What does that mean?" Rhodey asked

"I got you covered." with that Tony turned and flew off

Rhodey's eyes landed on Natasha, who shrugged back "He's your best friend"

Rhodey frowned, when a suit approached him

"Can I give you a lift?" JARVIS asked

"Very funny." Rhodey grunted

* * *

the scream was loud. very loud. and then a bang.

It took a moment for Rose to realize that she was the source of screaming.

the body was hurting. Burning. forget Cruciatus Curse, this felt worse than that unforgivable curse.

Rose panted as the pain lessened a little but then erupted just as suddenly as it began, making her scream louder.

Where was everyone?!

the pain stopped again. Rose panted, swallowing, trying to wet her super dry throat caused by screaming. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her body. instead of the familiar orange veins, her body was glowing as in whole. it wasn't very bright. in fact if it wasn't for the darkness in the prison cell, Rose wouldn't even have noticed the glow, which seemed to increasing over time. And so was the pain.

* * *

Tony glared at the man in front of him. He hated Killian and wanted to tear him down to every single fiber of his body. He pushed back his tears. He just failed pepper. he just let her fall to her death.

"A shame. I would've caught her." Killian shrugged, looking where Pepper fell before looking at him "What are you gonna tell Rosie now, huh? that you let the one woman she considered her mother fall? how disappointing Tony"

Tony grunted "Eject." he muttered, stepping out his suit, which flew away

Killian chuckled, flexing his neck and cracking his knuckles

"Well, here we are on the roof." Tony deadpanned

Killian actually laughed. Tony's face tightened. he was vaguely aware of Natasha and Steve's expecting glances at him, monitoring his moves and looking for any moment they might need to intervene

"I'll be damned." Killian chuckled "The prodigal son returns." he declared.

"Whatever." Tony almost growled

Killian shook his head, a smirk still on his lips

"You really didn't deserve her, Tony. It's a pity." he looked at Tony "I was so close to having her perfect"

"You're right." Tony replied, his voice devoid of any and every reaction "I don't deserve her." he paused, gulping "Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect."

And with a gesture, he had Mark 42 wrapped around Killian and pinned to the closest wall

"JARVIS," Tony started, staring at the screaming Killian with anger and hatred "do me a favor and blow Mark 42."

And it exploded

Tony looked down as the suit's helmet rolled closer to his feet.

He picked it up. and suddenly a crunching of metal made him look up. From amongst the melting metal, Killian stepped out, burning and full on glowing.

"No more false faces." Killian growled, his voice sounding like a echo "You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him!"

Killian flexed his muscles as the glow somehow got brighter

Tony barely registered Captain coming to stand next to him, his eyes on Killian as well

"It was always me, Tony. Right from the start. I am the Mandarin!"

with that, Killian attacked him. Tony grunted loudly as he fell on the ground and tried to get up. He might have cracked a rib or two, but those were least of his concerns. He looked up to see Steve engaging with Killian, but the scientist seemed to have an upper hand over the super soldier

And suddenly something-someone-struck Killian with a huge metal pipe, throwing him back. Tony gaped as he saw the source. A very alive Pepper with EXTREMIS in her. He got up and slowly made his way to Pepper

"I got nothing." Tony told her in a placating manner

Pepper's eyes left his own for a minute, settling next to him

Tony looked over his shoulder for a second then back at Pepper

"It's just Captain" he said "Capsicle?"

Pepper gulped. Tony took another step but stopped when he noticed a suit heading for Pepper, making his eyes to widen

"JARVIS, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!"

but nothing happened. Tony looked confused and scared before reaching for his ear and finding his comm missing.

"Stark"

Tony quickly looked at Captain before looking at his direction where his comm lie innocently

before either of the men could make a move to collect it, Pepper dodged the suit, ripping it's arm off in the process and putting it on her own arm, firing the repulsor at Killian's general direction

Pepper grunted and snapped her head towards Tony as he tried to come closer

"What?" Tony softly asked, stopping on his steps "Oh, what, are you mad at me?"

Pepper grunted again, letting go of the repulsor

"Whoo!" Tony exhaled, panting.

"Oh, my God." Pepper muttered, speaking for the first time "That was really violent."

"You just scared the devil out of me." Tony said, stepping closer "I thought you were..."

"I was dead." Pepper finished for him, looking at him in question "Why? Because I fell 200 feet? Who's the hot mess now?"

"It's still debatable." Tony shrugged "Probably tipping your way a little bi-"

"We are still not done"

Tony stopped and turned over as Steve made his way over to him. he opened his palm, which had his comm piece. Tony took it and quickly put it on

"I know" Tony replied, his grim expression returning

"Wh-what?" Pepper asked

Tony reached to hold Pepper, but she backed

"No, don't touch me."

"Don't worry about it." Tony assured her

"No, I'm gonna burn you."

"No, you're not." Tony reached and touched her "Not hot."

"_Found her_" Nat's voice came through their comms

Tony looked at Steve at once, who looked back at him

"Rose" Tony told Pepper

"Rose? where's she? is she okay?" Pepper asked, worry lacing her voice

a landing of suit made the trio look to their side as Rhodey landed

"We found Rose"

* * *

the four made their way to a where Nat was, standing outside a small warehouse of sorts at the docks

"where's Rose?" Tony rushed

Natasha looked at the warehouse but held Tony back when he tried to make for the warehouse

"what are you doing? Let me go, Romanoff" Tony almost growled

"Tony" Rhodey spoke up "something's not right"

"Is Rose okay?" Steve asked

while Natasha's expressions were very schooled, Rhodey ave out the expression of worry

"Rhodey.." Tony prompted but stopped when he, and others, noticed light coming out of the warehouse. Bright white light with a hint of orange, which had the five close their eyes

Once the lights died out, everyone looked at the Colonel and the Russian assassin

"this has been happening for a few minutes now" Natasha said "SHIELD medics are on their way"

"What's inside?" Steve asked

"We don't know" Rhodey replied "I tried opening the door, but it's jammed."

"Are you sure Rose's in there?" Tony asked

Rhodey gave him a look and then walked towards the building, stopping only a few steps ahead and raised his gloved hand. It met an invisible wall which glowed in a orangey-white shade under his touch

"Magic"

the inside light started building up again, but this time it was accompanied by a hum, Rhodey took a step back when he felt the building shake

"Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing the building shaking" Pepper muttered from behind

Next thing they know, the building exploded, throwing everyone off their feet

Steve groaned, getting up, Tony right next to him. He helped Nat while Tony held on to Pepper. Rhodey got up too, trying to stand on his bulky suit

"Guys?"

The other four looked over and just stopped. the warehouse no more there, but a huge empty perfect circle. and in the middle of the circle was a glowing figure.

The person was on all fours, almost half lying on the ground. there were shackles on her wrists and ankles. and most eye-catchig thing about the person, it seemed that the person was made of light. She-yes, she as she had all the required curves and long hair- was completely glowing in a orange tinge, her body's edges marked by a subtle dark orange glow. Her hair was unruly and completely white

Ignoring everything, Tony made his way to the figure. when he was quite close, he slightly crouched

"Rose?"

He called

the figure panted and exhaled. Tony looked down at his daughter, trying not to show worry over his face. his head snapped up at her when he realized she had said something

he leaned a little closer. he was still a couple of feet away from her but he could feel the body heat coming off of her. the heat and power. he wasn't even sure he was supposed to feel that.

"Sh-shackles"

he recognized Rose's voice. hesitantly he tried to reach for her shackles, but yanked his hand back. the shackles were red hot.

"What happened?" He heard Rhodey ask him from behind

"We need to get those shackles off of her. they are affecting her"

Steve's eyes snapped down at the shackles around the young billionaire and he took a step forward

"Let me try"

Steve stopped as Pepper came forward

"Are you sure?" Rhodey asked

"I think so" Pepper hesitantly replied "I d-don't know, but i got this thing and..." she looked at Tony and then slowly headed for the bent glowing figure. she could feel the hotness radiating off Rose, but it didn't affect her much. Pepper knelt on the ground and carefully reached for the shackles. they were warm under her touch despite being burning hot.

carefully she screwed one of them and removed the shackle throwing it away. And suddenly Rose's body stiffened, causing Pepper to tense

"It's me" Pepper whispered with as much love and affection she could muster up at the current moment "Pepperika. I'm going to get them away from you, okay?"

Rose didn't relax but also didn't make any further movements, so Pepper took that as a green signal and proceeded to take other shackles out.

once they were all out, Pepper backed up a little.

Everyone stood there on edge, ready for anything drastic.

Rose, after a few moments, brought her leg forward, followed by the other and stood up, facing the group.

Tony stiffened. her entire body was on view and it was glowing orange. Just like her hair, her eyes were bright white too.

"Rosie" Tony stepped a little closer, but Rose made no movement to guarantee that she recognized any of them

"Killian?" Rose spoke, her voice having a distant echo to itself

"Killian's dead" Tony said, taking another step closer "He's not gonna hurt you anymore"

Rose looked at him and then at the others behind him.

a distant click and her snapped towards the assassin who froze midway of removing her gun

"Don't" Steve held Nat's forearm. Natasha, never taking her eyes off of Rose, brought her hands forward in universal surrender gesture.

"Rosie" Tony tried again "It's just me. Dad. You gotta turn it off, baby"

Rose gave him a long look

"Powerful" she said

"I know. You are powerful and i know what you are feeling." at that, Rose tilted her head, as Tony continued "but you gotta remember sweetheart, what do we always say- Power co-"

"corrupts" Rose finished in her unusual monotone

"that's right" Tony coaxed, taking another step forward "Change back."

"Back?"

Tony nodded "You have to turn it off. Change back to normal."

He extended his hand. Rose looked at him then at his hand

"Please, munchkin"

Rose stared at him for a good long minute before hesitantly raising her hand. Tony bit back a wince when Rose's hand neared his. he can take that. if human touch brought his daughter back, then so be it.

Rose finally kept her hand on his and to Tony's surprise, it wasn't hot, or even warm. he looked down at his hand and hers to find the glow fading and it being replaced by human skin. his head snapped up at her face. Her eyes were turning back to normal with green iris and black pupils. Her hair was beginning to turn the pink he was so used to seeing. And then face stopped glowing and her skin started showing. rest of her body followed the fashion.

Tony swallowed every single curse he wanted to sprout out when he looked at rose's condition. if Killian wasn't dead already, Tony was going to make a lab rat out of him and let him know the worst kinds of pain known to humanity. How dare he touch his daughter? how dare he take clothes off of her? and what all he had done to his precious munchkin?

a tightened grip made him look at Rose, who suddenly swayed at her feet. her eyes rolled back and her head tilted. Tony acted on reflex. before Rose could hit the ground, he caught her, pulling her closer to him. he wrapped his arms around his daughter and pulled her into his chest, holding her tight and close

he heard footsteps behind him. he didn't need to look up to know who it was.

Rhodey's hand rested on his shoulder as his gaze dropped down to Rose, crouching next to the two

"Guys"

everyone looked at Natasha, who was looking at the sky. all of his suits were there. floating around them in a circle. some intact, some destroyed.

"Daddy?"

the voice was barely a whisper but it made Tony and Rhodey look at the girl in Tony's arms.

another shoulder squeeze made him look up to see Steve, as Pepper took on Tony's other side.

"I got you, peanut" tony said to Rose "You are gonna be alright, okay?" he looked at Pepper, and held on her hand "You both are gonna be alright"

"Are you sure Tony?" Pepper's voice was timid but it was a very reasonable question. afterall, he was reason she was in this mess in the first place

"i'm not sure" Tony admitted "But I think I can figure this out, yeah. I almost had this 20 years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you both better. That's what I do. I fix stuff."

"your distractions?" Rose barely whispered, but Tony heard her alright

"My distractions?" he weakly chuckled "Uh... I'm going to shave them down a little bit."

with that he looked up at his suits

"JARVIS. Hey."

"Will there be anything else?" one of the suits spoke

"You know what to do." Tony weakly smiled

"The Clean Slate Protocol, sir?" JARVIS asked

Tony seemed hesitant for a minute before he looked at the woman he loved and the woman who was his lifeline

"Screw it, it's Christmas." he weakly laughed, his exhaustion getting the better part of him "Yes, yes."

and then one by one, all the suits started exploding into fireworks. beautiful but very expensive fireworks. a shoulder squeeze made him look a Rhodey who gave him an approving look and a nod.

"Good one, Stark"

he almost snorted at Black Widow passive-aggressive praise. Even Steve gave him an approving nod, not that his opinion mattered to him. okay, maybe it did, but only a little and he wouldn't be caught dead admitting that.

a weak chuckle made him look down at his daughter, as she rested her head on his shoulder. of course she knew what was going through his head

"You didn't had to" she muttered

"But i wanted to" tony replied, pressing a kiss on her forehead after which he look he looked at Pepper

"Okay, so far? Do you like it?"

"It'll do."Pepper smiled back, squeezing Tony's hand

"Medics are here"

Tony spared Steve a glance and then looked forward as a couple of heavy duty vehicles approached them. Natasha made her way to the people who jumped out of the vehicles. A man approached Pepper

"Miss"

Pepper spared a look at Tony, Rhodey and Rose before she left with the man. Rhodey got up and tried to take Rose from Tony

"I can take her" Tony protested

"You are injured Tony" Rhodey reasoned

"So are you"

the two men looked at Steve, who approached them "I can take her. You both need medical attention"

"Okay Capsicle, I-"

Tony stopped when he felt Rose hold on to his shirt's material a little tighter. he looked down at her and she very subtly shook her head.

Tony looked at her for a minute before sighing. he turned to Steve and nodded. Steve reached down and picked Rose from Tony's arms and headed for the ambulance

he just spared one glance at the barely conscious girl in his arms. she had curled a little into himself, her head resting over his chest. Steve tried to not turn pink at the undressed state of Rose but barely managed, which had him berate himself.

he made it to the ambulance and carefully laid Rose on the stretcher bed, covering her as much as possible.

"Hey Cap"

Steve turned and found Tony right outside the ambulance

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you"

Steve blinked once before giving him a curt nod


	12. Chapter 12

2 weeks later,

Rose grunted, chewing on the tip of the pen as she looked over the EXTREMIS papers she had taken from the doctor.

A sudden tug made her look to her right where the nurse was changing the glucose IV pouch. Once done, the nurse shot her a small smile and brought forward a tray which actually made Rose groan, rolling her head back

"I'm afraid they don't have an escape, Ms. Stark" the nurse chuckled, amusement glowing in his eyes

"Okay" Rose straightened, keeping the paper and pen on the nearby table "How about this? What Han doesn't know, wouldn't hurt, right? Tell her i took these..." she warily eyed the dosage of medicine "and all went well"

"I'm sorry, Ms. St-"

"Come on" Rose actually whined "These things are horrible, anyway. And I'll let Han know that you did your job in an amazing way" Rose finished with a wink, feeling smug when she noticed a faint pink blush on his cheeks

Before the nurse could reply, the door to her room opened and the person who entered made her groan loudly

"Thank you, Liam, I'll take it from here"

"Of course, Dr." the nurse quickly looked down and scurried his way out of the room, but not before shooting Rose a quick smile

"You had to scare one of the hottest nurses I've ever had?" Rose eyed the newcomer "Really, Hannah?"

"Stop objectifying the nurses" Hannah deadpanned as she went through Rose's reports

"I'm not objectifying the nurses, Han, but Merlin, that one was one hot piece of ass. What's his name again? Can you please set us up for one night?"

Hannah shot her a glare over the cardboard

"You are a patient here and the nurses aren't booty calls" Hannah rolled her eyes as she deadpanned "Your reports seem back to normal. And your magic is returning to it's normal levels. I guess we are good here"

"Great!" Rose beamed "When can i leave?"

"Tomorrow"

"Tom-why tomorrow?"

"Because i want you under observation for one more night, okay? then, you are free to leave" Hannah said, putting the reports back "and you are supposed to eat those" she pointedly looked at the medicine tray

"They are disgusting" Rose declared

"Says the girl who had polyjuice at 11. Stop pouting like a 3 year old and drink that"

Reluctantly, Rose gulped whatever was on the tray, all the while frowning at Hannah

Once done, Rose grunted and settled back on the hospital bed

"thank You, Ms Stark" Hannah smiled, taking the tray with her

"You are not welcome, Dr. Abbott"

* * *

The last two weeks had been some of the worst time in her life. Especially when it came to removing the EXTREMIS from both Pepper and her

Both of them were taken to a SHIELD hospital. Despite been weak to her bones, Rose and Tony had taken two days to figure out a way to extract EXTREMIS out of Pepper. The operation had been successful and Pepper was discharged within a week of being admitted, back to normal.

Herself, was a whole different case. And her glowstick form had apparently scared the daylights of Tony, Rhodey and Pepper so badly, that Tony had quickly called Hannah Abbott and Poppy Pomfrey for assistance in her case. And unfortunately, Fury was not ready to let any doctors unapproved by him watch over an Avenger.

That demanded the harsh steps, which had Hannah fire a couple of mild hexes at Fury, also snapping

"I've been that's girl's personal doctor for the past 4 years. This woman has been tending to her since she was 11. If anyone knows Rose's body and magic the best in the world, it is us. No, you don't understand! You cannot cater to the needs of a witch as powerful as her. You'll only end up messing her. So either you let us heal her over here or we'll gladly take her to our London Hospital with or without your permission, Director!"

Fury had reluctantly agreed and walked away. he was not seen for the past two weeks by any of them. And when she had asked Hannah about it,

"Relax, Rose. I may or may not have given him some boils over his face. Don't worry, they'll vanish within two weeks"

Rose had laughed so hard, her stomach had started hurting.

Back to problem at hand,

EXTREMIS 2.0 had been very different than EXTREMIS. Not only that thing had acted as a extremely powerful source, her magic had turned the formulation sentient. Kinda like that Ford Anglia car Arthur Weasley had charmed.

EXTREMIS 2.0 went on to become more of a sentient parasitic nature and formed a weird relation with her. It took residence and fuel from her and gave her a magical boost.

It took Tony and Rose a complete week to only figure out a way to safely extract EXTREMIS 2.0 out of her body, without causing it harm. Her magical cores had to be adjusted in a way that it wouldn't demand for EXTREMIS 2.0 for it's own survival. And the lizard doctor's notes were a great help and a good start.

But of course during that one week and three days in the hospital, Rose had been in and out of that glowstick form against her will. Apparently the parasite inside her liked being in control. Overcoming it every time left her more tired than before.

And then finally after 2 days of surgery, the EXTREMIS 2.0 was removed, her core was stabilized and she was shifted to a normal ward.

And now that Pepper and Rose were back to normal, Tony had decided it was time for him to do it too. And today was the day when he was going to get that shrapnel and the arc reactor out of his chest.

And Rose hated waiting. She also hated that she was stuck in her own ward room and not next to Pepper and Rhodey who were with Tony. But she'd rather be alone than let her father be alone on this day.

So she had decided to busy herself by going over the whole EXTREMIS report to see if it could be modified in a way that it wouldn't ruin people into extremely violent firepeople or walking firefly or give them superhuman strength. Just help people to regrow their lost body parts.

A knock distracted her from the equation she was checking

"Come in" she called, pen still in mouth. she heard the door open and close, which made her look up. a small smile made its way to her lips and she sat a little more straighter

"Hey Steve"

"Hi" Steve replied, a little nervous. Rose noticed the bouquet of flowers he was carrying. As soon as Steve realized what she had seen, he quickly extended the bouquet towards her, along with a box of chocolates.

"These are for you" he said

"They are beautiful" Rose beamed, taking the flowers and chocolate. Rose closely inspected the bouquet and found a handwritten 'Get Well Soon' card. The writing was spectacular. and all the flowers were tulips. Not her favorite but hey, atleast they weren't roses. She hated when people gave her rose bouquets because of her name. She didn't hate roses but she never liked them either. she just tolerated them.

Rose reached and quickly emptied the flower vase next to her bed, filled it with some water and placed the bouquet in it.

"Thanks for visiting" she said, retracting herself to the bed where the box of chocolates laid innocently on her lap.

"I just wanted to check in with you and Sta-Tony" Steve replied, taking the seat next to her bed as she gestured for it.

"Thanks for the flowers too. And chocolates" Rose grinned, opening the box and stuffing one in her mouth. it melted in her mouth and she really wanted to moan in pure bliss. she was already loving it. "It's been ages since I've had chocolates" she extended the box towards Steve

Steve tried denying but the stern look on Rose's face him that she wouldn't take no for an answer, so he took a chocolate

"So, how's Fury?" she asked

"He's fine" Steve replied, a little confused "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah" Rose grinned at him and then took another chocolate, unwrapping it "And how are you?"

"I'm fine too"

Rose nodded

"Others?"

"Good. Nat and Barton are on some mission"

"Great" Rose looked at Steve

"What about you?" Steve asked

"A little tired. and I've definitely seen better days than this. I hate hospitals. they just smell so badly of chemicals and desperation" Rose scrunched her face "No offence" she quickly added

"None taken" Steve smiled "I don't like hospitals either"

the room door opened again and Liam entered, making Rose beam

"Hey Liam. Miss me?"

Liam just shot her a quick smile and began to change her glucose IV, which was empty, again. when was the last time that was changed?

"Come on. Don't ignore me" Rose grinned "And forget whatever Hannah said"

"You are Dr. Abbott's patient, Ms. Stark. I simply cannot ignore whatever Dr. Abbott told me"

"Well, Hannah's always been a bit of a downer. But you seem fun" Rose smirked, checking him over deliberately, which she knew both men took notice of.

* * *

Steve tried to ignore the weird feeling that bloomed in his gut when he saw Rose openly flirt with the nurse, whatever his name was. Steve narrowed his eyes at the newcomer

Brown hair. Green-hazel eyes. Good strong built. Caucasian Tone. Sharp features. About his mid to late 20s.

But Steve was so sure that he was better than that nurse. He was the first and only super-soldier. he could take up armies single handedly. he had fought in WWII and had been frozen for nearly 7 decades. He took up on a hostile alien army. so why was Rose paying attention to the nurse and not him. and it irked him even more when she not only flirt with him but openly checked him out too.

"So you free this Saturday?"

This caused Steve to look at the youngest avenger in shock. Even the nurse seemed shocked at the question. Apparently too shocked to even reply

"Liam" she tapped his forearm "Saturday?"

"You see, Ms. Stark, I...I just...but...Shift..." Liam fumbled, a pink hint climbing up his face as he spared one glance at Steve, almost as if asking for help

"Don't worry about the shift, okay? I'll talk to Hannah. Are you okay with this Saturday?" she asked again

Even now, the nurse looked hesitant. And Steve could get it, somewhere. It's not everyday that the Rose Stark asks someone out. Rose Stark, who also happens to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Tony Stark's daughter, the most eligible bachelorette in the world, the youngest billionaire, strongest women in USA-literally and figuratively and happens to have some super human abilities.

"I'm" Liam finally answered

"Great" Rose beamed "Pick me up at 7 PM from 10880, Malibu Point. Don't be late"

Liam flashed a grin, but they all could sense a little hesitance to it, before he left. Steve looked at the young Stark in awe. Did she just set up a date for herself with her nurse?

"Are you sure about this?"

When Rose shot him a look, Steve realized that he had spoken it loud, making him flush harder

"About what?"

"Abo-about..this..uh.."

"You can say one night stand, Steve. it's 2013. No one's gonna kill for you for that" she chuckled "Or you can still work out fondue"

Steve's flush deepened. How did she know? and how long has she known?

"Well, you know" Steve reasoned, trying to get his warm cheeks under control. This caused Rose to laugh quite loud, but not in an obnoxious way.

"Oh Steve" she sighed, a smile still on her face "You have no idea how adorable you can turn, do you?"

Steve nervously rubbed the back of his neck

"Anyway," she began "Yes, I'm sure about it because i haven't gotten laid in the past three months. and I've never been through such a long dry spell"

Steve gulped as his cheeks got a little warmer. Seriously, if this went on, he'd literally combust on the spot. Steve wouldn't complain a bit if the floor opened and swallowed him right away. in fact he'd prefer that

And as if the god heard his prayer, the door opened again and this time, Tony entered, looking better

"Hey kiddo" he smiled at Rose before looking over at Steve "Rogers"

"Tony" Steve nodded back, vacating his chair but Tony gestured him to keep sitting

"So, how did it go?" Rose asked, looking at Tony expectedly

"It's been good" he replied, walking closer to her.

"Can i...?" Rose looked at her father. He started unbuttoning his scrub, to reveal a smooth patch of skin where earlier that arc reactor was with little scars, but they weren't much visible. Rose nervously rose her hand and ran it over her father's chest, feeling the skin beneath her fingers. a smile broke out on her lips

"Good?" Tony asked

"Better" she replied and quickly wrapped her arms around Tony's waist, pressing her face into his abdomen

Steve quietly got up and only giving a nod to Tony, which he returned, left the room.

* * *

Saturday evening found both the Starks at their destroyed Malibu Mansion, overseeing the sea. Rose took a deep breath and then looked at Tony

"Ready?"

Tony looked at the arc reactor in his hands, as he fiddled with it

"It's best to let go sometimes" Rose reached and wrapped her hand around Tony's and gave it a firm squeeze. Tony gave her a smile as she withdrew her hand. He tossed the reactor once in air before throwing it far off in the sea.

"Good riddance" Tony muttered

"Agreed" Rose smiled, reaching to wrap her one arm around Tony and resting her head on his shoulder as Tony also wrapped his one hand around her waist

"You know i just realized something" Rose muttered

"What?"

"We are back to where we started" Rose smiled "No arc reactors or shrapnels, or alien armies or mechanical suits. Just you and me against the world"

Tony's grip tightened on Rose as he pulled her a little closer

"Well, Pepper and Rhodey are there too"

"We had them before too" she replied and took another deep breath "New cologne? trying to impress Pepper?"

Tony chuckled "Maybe? Good enough?"

"Best" Rose grinned at him

A car honk grabbed both their attention as they turned around. There on the road stood a sleek black car, inside which was a flustered looking Liam

"Who's that?"

"Liam" she replied, pulling from Tony and shooting him a knowing look

"I do not need to know that" Tony made a face, making Rose chuckle

"I'll see you tomorrow morning" Rose turned and walked to the car. She opened the door and entered the passenger seat

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin this moment between you and your dad" Liam apologized

"It's cool" Rose smiled back at Liam before looking forward as Tony entered his red Ferrari and pulled off, a wagon attached having all the equipments and robots that survived.

"So, uh, where too?"

Rose looked back at Liam, quickly blinking back her tears

"Uh..Mastro's Ocean Club" she replied, adjusting her black crop satin top as she flashed another smile at Liam "Shall we?"


	13. Author's Note

I was thinking on another chapter, but decided to instead start the third story, the sequel of XTREMIS. Well, these are gonna be more of one shots collaborated as the Avengers move into the tower. after a couple of chapters, I'm thinking of starting CA:TWS, in continuation in the third story. If you got any ideas or prompts for the one-shots, do pm or review them to me. I'll admit, one shots are not really my strength, so I'd love some prompts. It doesn't particularly have to be about Steve-Rose relationship, but relation between any of them.

Please don't disappoint me. Pls send some prompts. pls pls pls

(^_^)


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